The family of a rape and murder victim is still awaiting the compensation promised by the government.

In September 2020, a 12-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Masta Rural Municipality.

The victim’s body was found in a temple in Ward 2 of the rural municipality on September 23. She had gone to feed her cattle at a nearby shed when Rajendra Bohara, then 17 years old, dragged her to the temple, raped her and subsequently murdered her.

Bohara confessed to the crimes and said he killed the girl with a trident and a hammer on the temple premises.

Bohara is currently in judicial custody at a juvenile reform centre in Dipayal, Doti district.

Following the incident, the locals protested for seven days in the district, demanding action against the culprits and compensation for the victim’s family.

The government had promised a compensation of Rs1 million as relief to the family.

However, more than two years after the heinous crime, the family of the deceased is still awaiting compensation from the state. Her family has been running from pillar to post seeking their due from the home ministry.

In the first phase, the family was supposed to receive Rs300,000 cash through the District Administration Office. However, the family did not want the compensation in installments and asked for the lumpsum amount to be paid to them.

Gorakh Kami, the 66-year-old grandfather of the deceased, went to the District Administration Office several times but returned empty-handed.

“They send me away every time saying that they have not received the money from the higher authorities,” said Kami. “They say they will inform us when they receive the money. I have no hope of getting compensated.”

Kami is from an impoverished family and has two granddaughters to look after. The money, he says, will be of great help in taking care of his remaining granddaughters.

“My son and daughter-in-law live and work in India. They have left their two daughters in my care,” said Kami. “I want to do right by my two granddaughters and send them to a good school. A good education will help them break the cycle of poverty but I am losing hope each day.”

“We don’t have anyone to speak for us. It feels like the government is going back on its words to us,” he said.

On September 30, 2020, the protesting locals and the then chief district officer, Ram Bahadur Sarki, reached an agreement to provide financial compensation to the victim’s family.

Maheshwar Neupane, the erstwhile Home secretary, had instructed Sarki to agree to Rs1 million compensation for the Kami family.

“We agreed to give compensation to the victim, and Rs3,00,000 was immediately sent by the government, but the victim’s family refused to take the money in installments. I soon got transferred so I don’t know what happened next,” said Sarki.

Although the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance on January 7, 2021, to provide an additional amount of Rs7,00,000 to the victim’s family, they are yet to receive a single penny, says Kami.