Police have arrested a head constable for recording a video of a teenage suspect giving a statement while in custody in a case involving the rape and killing of a three-year-old girl in Bara.

Naredra Kunwar, chief of the Bara District Police Office, said the head constable who filmed the suspect’s statement had been taken into custody.

“We have arrested the head constable who recorded the video. Four others are also under investigation,” Kunwar told Kantipur. “Criminal proceedings will be initiated against the arrested officer.”

The video, recorded during the investigation, went viral on platforms including Facebook, X, TikTok and Reddit, raising questions about the police investigation and how confidential material was allowed to leave police custody.

Nepal’s existing laws prohibit the publication of material that could reveal the identity of a person under investigation. Section 17 of the Privacy Act, 2018, bars authorities from making public the identity of a person under investigation before a charge sheet has been filed against them.

The provision states that until a charge sheet is filed with the relevant authority, an authorised official may not make public, or cause to be made public, the identity of a person being investigated in connection with an alleged offence.

The Madhesh provincial police have launched an internal investigation after the video, which should have remained confidential while the teenager was in police custody, was leaked and circulated widely.