According to police, the investigation has revealed that after throwing the body into the ravine, the perpetrators left the mobile phone with the deceased out of fear that the truth would be exposed.
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A 17-year-old boy was murdered by his own friends in Badigad, Baglung, over an iPhone.
It has been revealed that Lajin Thapa, son of Bombahadur and Deumaya of Badigad Rural Municipality-1, was killed by his own friends, who attacked him with punches and stones. After the murder, his friends hid the body and misled the police about the location, so the police only found the victim's body nine days after the incident.
On the 1st of Saun, his friends called him over, saying they would celebrate their neighbor Asim Ban's birthday. They drank alcohol at night, and later, under the pretense of taking him home, took him to a secluded place, snatched the iPhone from Lajin, and attacked him. The arrested individuals have stated that after Lajin lost consciousness from the punches, they killed him by hitting him with stones and then robbed him of the iPhone he had with him. According to the police, four of Lajin's friends, including Dadi Pariyar and Rembahadur BK, have been arrested on murder charges.
"First, they took him to a secluded place for the iPhone and punched him, then killed him by hitting him with stones, and after that, they robbed the phone," said Superintendent of Police Phadindra Prasai of the District Police Office, who was involved in the investigation. "To hide the body, they walked for 25 minutes at night and threw it into a ravine." The investigation also revealed that after disposing of the body, they left the victim's mobile phone with him, thinking the police would find out.
Lajin, who was living at his uncle's house in Kathmandu and studying in grade 11 at Saipal College, had come home a few days earlier to make his citizenship certificate. He had an iPhone that his uncle had bought for him. His friends had repeatedly tried to take photos with that iPhone. It was also revealed that Dadi Pariyar, one of the arrested, used to ask for the phone to take better photos because his own phone was not good. Prasai said that photos of the friends were also found on the phone.
Before the body was found, on the 7th of Saun, based on involvement in the incident, 20-year-old Rembahadur BK, 19-year-old Sudip BK, 16-year-old Asim Ban, and 17-year-old Dadi Pariyar were taken into custody, and a case of enforced disappearance was registered against them, with a five-day extension granted. After the body was found, the police are preparing to file a murder charge against them.
The body was found in a decomposed state after nine days. The body has been brought to Dhaulagiri Hospital for post-mortem. The nature of the injuries and other details will be revealed after the post-mortem, said District Police Information Officer Deputy Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Twati.
After a missing person report was filed on the morning of the 2nd of Saun, the Area Police Office Galkot, Police Post Kharbang, and a team led by District Police Chief Prasai searched the village.
As the investigation became difficult, a polygraph technician and trained dog were brought from the Provincial Police Office in Pokhara. "We only found the body in the Manekhola ravine after searching with technical support and the dog," said Prasai. "It was difficult to find the body because items like slippers and a jacket were hidden in different places."
The village is in mourning after the incident. He said the investigation was difficult because the arrested individuals are also very young.
