It has been two months since 18-year-old Poojakumari Ram was found dead in Surunga Municipality-7, Saptari. At first, police declared it a case of murder, stating that her body was found hidden under grass, indicating someone had tried to cover up the crime. But despite the early claims, the investigation has made no progress. The killer remains unidentified, and the police have not found any strong clues.
According to DSP Jitendra Basnet of the district police office, teams from both the district and provincial levels have been assigned to the case. He admitted that they have not been able to identify the suspect yet. Although police officials say they focused on the crime scene and followed proper procedures, they could not gather any evidence from the spot that would lead them to the murderer.
Police believe that Pooja was murdered, even though there were no visible injuries on her body. Investigators say both technical and manual investigations are ongoing. They have also looked into people with criminal backgrounds and those who went missing from the area after the incident. However, the lack of solid evidence has kept the case at a standstill.
Pooja had a painful past. Around three and a half years ago, in Mangsir 2078, she had survived an attempted rape by a local man named Jageshwar Thakur. She screamed for help, and he fled. A case was filed, and he was sentenced to eight months in prison with a Rs 7,000 fine. He served his time and was released. After Pooja’s murder, police questioned Thakur again, considering his past connection to her. However, investigators say that so far, there is no proof linking him to her death.
Pooja’s story is not the only one. On the same day she was found dead, another young woman named Anandidevi Sada, 24, from the Musahar community in Nawarajpur-10, Siraha, was also found dead at her maternal home. Anandidevi had earlier reported sexual harassment. On Poush 9, two local men—Sanjeev kumar Yadav and Shyamsundar Yadav—had allegedly tried to rape her when she was visiting her sister. They had surrounded her, torn her clothes, and dragged her into a nearby mango orchard, but she managed to escape.
Less than four months later, Anandidevi was found hanging. Her death was called a suicide, but the two men accused in the previous case have not been arrested, even after six months. According to SP Anantaram Sharma of Siraha, they are believed to have escaped to India, and police are still searching for them.
