A single bench of Justice Rajesh Kumar Kafle, previously deferring the hearing dates, acquitted Singh of all charges during the hearing that concluded at 9:45 pm on Monday. Kafle had also cleared Mahesh Singh, known for lending money at usurious interest rates on Sunday.

Following the verdict, the daughters, family and relatives of Maharjan broke into tears. “So then, where is my mother?” said Sudha, daughter of Maharjan, “The court has done injustice to us.”

The hearing of Chhori Maiya’s case prolonged after the then Justice Bal Krishna Upreti, who was hearing the case, was transferred from Kathmandu along with every other justice of Kathmandu District Court. Upreti had slated September 20, 2013 as the date for the final verdict.

The court failed to disclose the hearing dates citing that the new justices were being assigned other cases. In the end, Justice Kafle was given the responsibility of hearing the case of Chhori Maiya.

Chhori Maiya went missing on February 28, 2012 after leaving her Jaisideval-based house to meet Surakshya Singh alias Nikki at her apartment in Baneshwor.

Police investigations later revealed that Nikki had borrowed nearly Rs 5 million from the Maharjans. Based on available evidence, police had taken Nikki into custody for preliminary investigations.

On the day Chhori Maiya disappeared, Sudha had received a text message from her mother saying she would be returning home the next day as she had gone to Manakamana with  friends.

That was the last bit of contact the family had with Chhori Maiya. When the family enquired about Chhori Maiya with Nikki, they were informed that she would be back in a couple of days but never showed up.