KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a five-member committee to investigate into the death of Dalit youths in Chaurjahari of Rukum.

Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has entrusted the committee led by the joint-secretary at the Ministry to submit report to the government.

He informed this while speaking at the National Assembly’s session on Tuesday.

Home Minister Thapa assured the NA that the Chaurjahari incident will be investigated thoroughly and people found guilty will be punished.

Three people have died and two are still missing in the Bheri river when they dived into the Bheri River while trying to save their life when they were attacked by relatives and neighbors of a girl, who had an affair with a Dalit youth, Nabaraj BK of Bheri Municipality-4, Jajarkot.

They were chased by the locals (neighbors of the girl). Six, among the 18, had dived into the Bheri river at the border of Jajarkot and Western Rukum.

Nabaraj had an affair with a so-called ‘upper-cast’ girl of that village. Her parents and the society were against her marriage with a Dalit boy. Therefore, the youth wanted to take the girl at any cost.

Bodies of Nawaraj, Tikaram Sunar of Chaurjahari municipality-1 and Ganesh Budha of Bheri municipality-1 have been recovered so far, according to the police.

Youths, including Govinda Shahi, Sanju BK, Gopal Budhathoki and Lokendra Sunar are still missing.

Meanwhile, nine people including the ward chairman of Chaurjahari municipality 8 have been arrested to investigate the death of the Dalit youths.

According to police, 21-year-old Nabaraj along with 18 other people had come to elope his girlfriend of Chaurjahari-8 on Saturday.