The joy of Dashain was about to end. Suddenly, worries began to arise in the house of Naveen Gautam of Fadani village, Letang Municipality-2, Morang.

The reason was - Anshu, a 12-year-old daughter, went missing from her home on the afternoon of 21 Asoj. Two weeks after her disappearance, Anshu was found dead in the Belbari-Chisang partnership forest. Why and how did this incident happen? Why did the police take weeks to investigate the incident? Even though the main accused in the incident has been found, the police have not yet concluded other investigations into the matter. What was the reason for this cruel and inhuman incident? We have tried to explain in five questions and answers. What is the background to the Anshu Gautam murder case? Anshu is the daughter of Navin Gautam, a resident of Fadani, Letang-2, Morang. She was 11 years old and was studying in grade 5 at Lakshmi Secondary School near her home. On the afternoon of 21 Asoj, Kojagrat Purnima, she left her home saying, "I am going to play ping pong." When she did not return home by evening, the family searched the village and the forest. They asked their friends. They searched the nearby forest. However, she was not found. Finally, they filed a complaint with the police.

How, where and in what condition was Anshu's body found?

• The father, Naveen, had filed a complaint with the Area Police Office, Letang, at around 1 pm on the 22nd regarding the disappearance of her daughter. A circular was issued to all district police offices through the District Police Office, Morang. Immediately after the circular, a 'jungle search' campaign was launched with the Area Police Office, Letang, Police Post Budhabare, Nepali Army, relatives and locals.

The police had continued to monitor and interrogate the suspects. 18 days after Anshu disappeared, i.e. on Kartik 7, at around 1 pm, three people including Lochan Shahi, who had gone to cut grass, informed the police that they had found a suspicious body. The police found a decomposed body, with only the lower part of the body and the head remaining in the Letang-2 Belbari-Chisang partnership forest area. The father Naveen identified his daughter's body based on the slippers, black half-pint and black watch found at the scene.

• Why did Anshu's family not recognize the body for a long time?

The body found in the forest appeared to have been brutally murdered. The family had been claiming that she was raped and murdered. On that basis, the family refused to recognize the body until the culprit was arrested. Anshu's body has been at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan for a month and a half. The family has not yet recognized the body, saying that justice should be ensured by completing the post-mortem and DNA tests. The police say that since the accused has been arrested recently, the body will now be handed over to the family. Anshu's DNA was sent to the police forensic laboratory in Kathmandu for testing. But the report has not come yet.

How did the police investigate this incident?

• It seems that the police started the investigation after the complaint was filed. On October 25, a team including the police searched the forest. But nothing was found at that time. After the body was found on October 7, a team including SP Kavit Katwal, the Chief of Police of the District Police Office, Morang, reached the spot and conducted further investigation. The police formed a five-member special investigation team under the command of DSP Kopila Chundal to investigate. Which was named 'Operation Jag'.

In addition, a special team from the Central Crime Investigation Bureau and the provincial police were also deployed in the investigation. During the investigation, the police directly spoke to more than 300 people. 16 people even underwent polygraph tests. CCTV footage and forensic evidence were collected for technical investigation and a scientific analysis of the crime scene was conducted. During this, the police also conducted a serious study on the modality of the crime, the psychology of the criminal, etc.

• What is the statement given by the accused to the police?

In this incident, the police arrested 59-year-old Padam Adhikari from Tinsukia, Assam, India, as the main accused. He is the neighbor of the deceased Anshu. On Asoj 21, Padam met Anshu while she was playing with her best friend near the school. Padam gave the friend who was playing 5 rupees and sent her away. At that time, he asked Anshu to help him as he was going to cut grass. When Anshu said 'yes', he put Anshu in the carrier of his bicycle and took her to the forest about 4 kilometers from her house. First, he raped her. Anshu asked for help. However, her voice faded away in that uncharted forest. After the rape, fearing that the incident would be known, he first strangled her and then hacked her to death with a sickle used to cut grass.