Police in Rukum (West) arrested seven more people in relation to the Soti incident on Thursday evening.

“They were taken into custody after the court issued an arrest warrant against them,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Thag Bahadur KC, the chief of Rukum (West) Police.

[Read: Investigation into the Soti incident starts on Friday]

According to police, they were arrested on the basis of statements given by the accused who were held earlier.

Police have arrested 12 people including Dambar Bahadur Malla, the ward chairman of Chaurjahari Ward No. 8, on May 26, and six others on May 28.

[Read: Human Rights Watch calls on Nepal government to ensure justice for caste-based killings]

On Thursday, Rukum (West) District court extended the remand of 18 individuals for 10 more days in police custody.

On May 23, locals from Soti in Chaurjahari Municipality in Rukum (West) allegedly attacked Nabaraj BK of Jajarkot and 18 of his friends accompanying him to the village to help him elope with his girlfriend, who belonged to so-called “upper caste”.

On May 24, the bodies of Nabaraj and his friend Tikaram Sunar, both of them Dalits, were found on the banks of the Bheri river.

The bodies of Ganesh Budha, Lokendra Sunar and Sandip BK, who went missing in the incident, were recovered on May 25, whereas that of Govinda Shahi was recovered from Bheri river in Khodakhola, Jajarkot on Tuesday.

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