KALIKOT: Deependra Sah, a resident of Naraharinath Rural Municipality–4 in Kalikot, has been plunged into deeper hardship after relatives absconded with the ₹700,000 (approx. Rs 1.12 million) relief provided by the Indian government following the rape and murder of his young daughter.
Sah and his wife, Sushila Kunwar, traveled to India to collect the relief money, but lacking bank accounts there, they entrusted two relatives—Ranbahadur Budha (also known as Rajendra) of Naraharinath–3 and Tara Koirala of Chitwan—with the task of opening an account.
The couple were brought back to Nepal’s Kalikot district when Budha and Koirala claimed they would handle the deposit.
“After we arrived in Kalikot, they told us there was no need to open an account and sent us back to India,” Sah recounted. Back in India, the two convinced the family they would issue a cheque in Sah’s name, using forged documents that falsely named Budha as the girl’s paternal uncle.
Instead of delivering the funds, Budha and Koirala vanished. Sah learned that Budha had opened a bank account under his own name in Kalikot and transferred the relief money there.
“Not only did I lose my daughter, but my own kin robbed me of the relief meant to help us rebuild our lives,” Sah lamented. He added that when he demanded the money back, the two threatened him with violence.
Sah and Kunwar, who remain stranded in India, are now without financial support. “I came here to earn a living and now I have lost my daughter and the relief money,” Kunwar said, accusing her relatives of betraying them in their hour of need.
Local rights activist Santosh Mahtar, close to the family, confirmed that Budha and Koirala have not been traced since fleeing. “They exploited the family’s desperate circumstances and manipulated them with false promises,” Mahtar said.
The accused, charged under India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and corresponding sections of the Indian Penal Code, remain in custody in Rammurti Nagar. Meanwhile, Sah continues to appeal for justice and the return of the misappropriated funds that were intended to ease his family’s suffering.
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