A video purportedly showing a teenage suspect giving a statement about the rape and murder of a girl in Bara district has been circulating widely on social media, raising questions over how footage recorded during a police investigation was leaked.

The video, which has spread on multiple social media platforms, shows the teenage suspect describing the alleged crime. Police officers can also clearly be seen recording the footage.

Nepali law prohibits the public disclosure of material that could reveal the identity of a suspect while an investigation is under way. 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 a person under investigation for an alleged offence cannot be publicly identified or caused to be identified by an authorised official in any manner until a charge sheet has been filed with the relevant authority.

The Madhesh provincial police have launched an internal investigation into the leak after footage recorded while the suspect was in police custody appeared online.

Superintendent of Police Prabhu Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson for the Madhesh Provincial Police Office, said the leak was being investigated seriously.

“Such an act should not have happened during an investigation. We are looking into how it happened and who was involved,” Dhakal told Kantipur. “Anyone found involved will be brought within the scope of necessary action.”

Deputy Superintendent of Police Min Bahadur Ghale, information officer at the district police office in Bara, also said investigators were examining how the video was recorded and circulated.

“We are also investigating who recorded the video and how it was circulated,” Ghale told Kantipur.

Umesh Shrestha, chair of the Press Council Nepal, said making the video public was inappropriate.

“It is natural for questions to be raised about the accused when a serious crime such as rape and killing is being investigated. The truth must come out, and those responsible must face punishment under the law. But putting a video of a minor giving a police statement on social media before a court has reached a verdict is not part of a fair justice process,” Shrestha said in a social media post.

“We must never forget that a victim’s suffering is not content, and an accused person’s statement is not something to be turned into viral material,” he said.