The family of 37-year-old Laxmi Khadka Silwal staged a protest in Birgunj on Monday, demanding an impartial investigation and action against those responsible, claiming that her death was suspicious.
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The family of 37-year-old Laxmi Khadka Silwal, who died under suspicious circumstances in Sakhua Prasauni Rural Municipality–1, Siddhpur, Parsa, staged a protest in Birgunj on Monday demanding an impartial investigation and action against those responsible.
Laxmi, a mother of two originally from Ramnagar, Thori Rural Municipality-3, was found hanging in a shed next to her house on Friday morning. However, her family claims that her death was not a suicide but a murder staged to look like one, and protested accordingly.
After the post-mortem, the body has been kept in the mortuary of Narayani Hospital. The family has stated that they have refused to receive the body for four days, insisting they will not accept it until the post-mortem report is released. Relatives of the deceased, local women, and family members traveled from Thori to Birgunj demanding a thorough investigation and strict action against the culprits. They marched from New Bus Park Chowk to Ghantaghar with slogans before submitting a memorandum to Chief District Officer Bhola Dahal at the District Administration Office.
While submitting the memorandum, Thori Rural Municipality Vice Chairperson Gokuli Regmi accused that Laxmi was murdered and her body was hung in the shed. The memorandum also demanded that all those involved—including the deceased’s husband Sudhir Silwal, parents-in-law, and sister- and brother-in-law—be brought within the legal process.
The memorandum further demanded a repeat post-mortem, claiming the initial report was flawed; the formation of an independent investigation committee for an impartial probe; the public release of the deceased’s mobile phone and bag; and the immediate arrest of the accused mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Chakra Bahadur Malla, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Parsa, the deceased’s husband Sudhir Silwal has been in custody and under investigation since the day of the incident. The parents-in-law were also initially detained but were released on bail with the consent of the deceased’s family, considering their old age.
Laxmi’s family claims that Sudhir Silwal, a retired Nepal Army employee, was a drug user and had repeatedly assaulted his wife. They allege that the couple had an argument the night before the incident, that broken bangles were found at the scene, there were stains resembling blood outside the room, the rope allegedly used for hanging was not tied, and the body was found lying on the floor of the shed—all of which, they say, make the incident suspicious.
