24 slapped life imprisonment in Rukum West murder case

By Raju Lamichhane,Rukum West, Dec. 6: Rukum District Court has slapped life imprisonment to 24 persons for their involvement in murdering six youth at Soti of Chaurjahari Municipality-8, Rukum West, four years ago.

A single bench of District Judge Khadak Bahadur KC on Tuesday sentenced 24 of the 34 defendants of the murder case to life.  On May 23, 2020, six persons including Navaraj BK of Jajarkot were brutally murdered at Soti.

According to Information Officer of the District Court Govinda Prasad Koirala, 23 of the convicted were remanded in the custody while one was released on bail. 

According to Koirala, the then Ward Chairman Dambar Bahadur Malla, Dilli Bahadur Thakuri, Prem Bahadur Thakuri, Santosh Malla, Mohan Pun Magar, Man Bahadur Malla, Top Bahadur Malla, Sabin Pun aka Sarwajeet, Tilak Chand, Irda Bahadur Thakuri, Lipendra Kumar Malla, Harka Bahadur Malla, Binod Malla, Netra Bahadur Malla, Resham Bahadur Malla, Dhanraj Rana, Navin Kumar Gharti Magar, Biraj Pun Magar, Bhim Bahadur Pun, Ramit Pun Magar, Bishnu Malla and three others, including the father of the so-called girl friend of Navaraj BK, and her two brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment. 

Of them, additional two-year imprisonment was slapped on those who have their family name as Malla and Thakuri in the caste discrimination case as well as a fine of Rs. 50,000.

Likewise, the girl identified as the girlfriend of murdered Navaraj, and her mother were sentenced imprisonment of two years and a fine of Rs. 50,000 each. 

Eight other persons who were released on bail were acquitted.  They included Tularam Gharti, Dilli Gharti, Lokendra Gharti, Saurav Pun, Bhim Bahadur Budha, Indra Bahadur Malla, Tul Bahadur Malla and Dipendra Chand.

The final hearing on the case began on Sunday and concluded on Tuesday.  Fifteen lawyers including district attorney pleaded on behalf of the victims while six lawyers pleaded on behalf of the defendants.

The six persons were killed in the Bheri River that flows between Jajarkot and Rukum West. Soti locals had attacked the youth when Navaraj came to Rukum West from Jajarkot to marry and take his girlfriend, a woman from a Malla family of Soti village, on May 23, 2020

Navaraj BK, and Sanju BK of Bheri Municiplaity-4, Lokendra Sunar and Govinda Shahi of Bheri Municipality 11, Ganesh Budha of Kushe Rural Municipality and Tika Ram Nepali of Chaurjahari Municiplaity-1, Rukum West, were murdered in the attack. Bodies of all six were recovered from the Bheri River.