KATHMANDU: Rows that start with minor interest and misunderstanding turn so fatal that they have taken 55 lives since Mid-July.

Former DIG of Nepal Police Hemanta Malla regards it as a result of the decline of moral values and the birth of cruelty based on the materialistic fulfillment of human desire.

“On many occasions its seems that humanity itself is at a decline, people respond quite aggressively and cruelly on minor issues as well,” former DIG Malla said, “People have got no means to expose their anger, hatred and dissatisfaction, as a result, the criminal cases are increasing.”

The most appalling fact is that most of the murders which occurred lately are executed by the kith and kin of the victims.

Lalitpur’s murder case in which an aunt was found murdered by her own nephew can be interpreted as the best example reflecting such a trend.

The primary investigation of the police shows that the murder case of September 4 was due to illicit sexual relationships and financial transactions between Geeta KC, 39, and her nephew Nirmal KC.

Investigating the issue, the police found that Geeta, then an inhabitant of Bhaisepati in Lalitpur, was in an extramarital relationship with Nirmal for 3 years.

Murder-alleged Nirmal confessed the crime during police interrogation.

Geeta used to work in a hospital and Nirmal used to take her to the office and back home. They used to have a sexual relationship in her husband’s absence.

The investigation revealed that when the relation grew intense and Nirmal had a misunderstanding related to the financial transaction, he took her to a jungle for an ‘outing’ and killed her there in Lele.

Some major incidents since mid-July

There was a cold-blooded murder of Krishna Bahadur Bohara at Gongabu by a woman he was in a relationship with on September 10.

The police investigation found that Kalpana Moodvari who was arrested from Chitwan on the second day after the incident had an extramarital relationship with him and they had a misunderstanding in some financial transactions.

In another case, a 40-year-old woman of Rautahat was murdered on August 30.

According to SP Rabi Raj Khadka, the Chief of District Police Office Rautahat, Mintra Devi Baitha of Gadhimai-3, Musariya was found murdered in the sugarcane field she had been to cut grass.

She had gone there on Sunday morning at around 10 am was murdered brutally by her acquaintance. The dead body was discovered in the evening.

Goman Singh Magar of 27 years, an inhabitant of Shiva Satakshi Municipality, was murdered September 1.

A police investigation found that Man Kumar Limbu, one of the locals, had killed him in Ratuwamai forest when they had a dispute on a financial transaction. Limbu had beheaded Magar in anger.

Sudarshan Adhikari, 42, an inhabitant of Namobouddha-8 Dapcha, Kavrepalanchowk killed his sister in law (younger brother’s wife) Ranjana Timalsina irate on the domestic conflict.

The primary investigation of the police has found that he killed a 37-year-old sister-in-law in the dispute over the property. Adhikari killed her striking her with an axe.

On September 3, Raju Pariyar, 26, reached at the district police office Dhading at around 1 AM with a decapitated head of 65-year-old Som Bahadur Gurung.

Murderer Pariyar surrendered to the police with a decapitated head and a knife used in the incident.

According to SP Ravindra Regmi, the Chief of District Police Office Dhading, Pariyar had killed Gurung after a minor misunderstanding on Thursday evening. He had brutally killed Gurung and carried the head and knife in a bag and gone to the police.

In a domestic conflict Ajaya BK, 36, killed his 33-year-old wife Parvati Khadka on September 4 in Anamnagar Kathmandu.

Khadka, who nabbed with a knife, died while undergoing treatment in Civil Hospital, Kathmandu.

These are some representative cases. The statistics at the Police Headquarters reveal that there have been 55 cases of murder in the last one and a half months period.

According to the police record, there have been 5 murders in Kathmandu Valley, 9 in Province 1, thirteen in Province 2, six in Bagmati Province, 2 in Gandaki Province, 10 in Province 5, five in Karnali Province and 6 in Sudur Paschim Province in less than 7 weeks.

Murder cases in the last 3 years

FY 2017/18 – 626 cases

FY 2018/19 – 659 cases

FY 2019/20 – 555 cases

FY 2020/21 – 55 cases (in first 7 weeks)

Main motifs behind the murder: Financial transactions and illicit relationship

According to SSP Kuber Kadayat, the spokesperson of Nepal Police says there have been various motifs behind such murders.

However, based on the current trends of murder, most of the murders are found to have been related to illicit sexual relationships and attempts to hide it, financial transactions, and unjustifiably aggressive impulses.

Besides these, the dispute over the border, water channels, aggressive verbal excuse, dowry, etc. lead to murder. The data reveals that in most instances the victims are killed by the kith and kins.

SSP Deepak Thapa, the Chief of the Metropolitan Crime Division of Nepal Police also holds financial transactions and illicit relationships, among others, responsible for the instances of murder.

“Most of the incidents are found to be an attempt to hide the illicit and extra-marital affairs,” SSP Thapa said, “Many others are the result of the inability to control the anger and aggressive impulsive. Lack of patience and absence of self-control in the minor disputes result in murder these days.”

Former DIG Malla is really anxious to see the fall of humanity and the decline of values.

“There are dozens of incidents which reveal where our society is heading towards,” Malla told Khabarhub, “The concern now is: have we been able to transfer the values we inherited from our ancestors?”

He thinks it is high time that people researched where our society is heading towards based on the instances of hiking numbers of murder, rape, theft, robbery, etc.

How to mitigate the instances of murder?

Former DIG Malla thinks moral education a must to control and minimize the instances of crime in society.

Besides, the government should think about generating better job and income opportunities to involve youths in creative and constructive roles.

“The loss of job and income opportunities and the panic of coronavirus pandemic is likely to make people lose their patience,” Malla told Khabarhub while talking about the measures to be adopted.

“The concerned authorities should plan and act calculating the number of people adversely smashed by the pandemic on time,” he added.

Experts emphasize on a thorough study on the causes and impacts of criminal activities taking place in society.

A thorough investigation of the factors provoking to criminal activities should be addressed in time. Together with taking action against the criminals, the source factors have to be explored and uprooted for good.