Janakpurdham, 31 Jul: In Janakpurdham, the murder of 15-year-old Anjali Yadav has been traced back to her mother’s extramarital affair as the primary motive. Anjali’s mother, Asha, had been involved in an illicit relationship with Rambabu Sah of Ichhapur, Ward 9, Chhireswarnagar Municipality in Dhanusha, despite being married.
Rambabu has a criminal record—he had been convicted of killing his first wife, Sarita Devi Sah, on Chaitra 2, 2071 BS (around March 2015). He served a five-year prison sentence for the crime, categorized as a heat-of-the-moment murder, and was released in 2077 BS (2020 AD). After his release, he remarried and settled in Ichhapur.
During this period, Asha and Rambabu met in Mahendrabazar, Dhanusha, and developed a mutual attraction. They eventually began living separately in rented rooms but continued their relationship.
Dinesh, Asha’s husband, eventually learned about her extramarital affair with Rambabu. He informed Rambabu’s family about the illicit relationship and the fact that Asha and Rambabu had started living together.
A village mediation (panchabhela) was held, during which it was agreed that Asha and Rambabu would be allowed to live together, while Dinesh would take care of their two sons and one daughter. As part of the agreement, Rambabu paid Dinesh a certain amount of money.
Following this, Asha began legal proceedings to divorce Dinesh so she could live with Rambabu as his lawful partner.
About a month or two before the incident, Rambabu, feeling happy with the relationship, bought an auto-rickshaw for Asha to help her earn a living. However, she had the vehicle registered under her brother’s name.
Not only that, Asha secretly moved into a new rented room without informing Rambabu. She then invited Dinesh back and resumed living with him as a family.
After becoming financially independent, Asha began ignoring Rambabu’s calls. In fact, she reportedly went as far as calling Rambabu’s wife and instigating conflict between the couple.
On Saun 12 (the day of the incident), Rambabu tried calling Asha multiple times. She didn’t answer, and even when she did, she refused to let him speak to her daughter.
According to Rambabu’s statement, after repeatedly trying to reach her, Asha finally answered one call but verbally abused him. Unable to tolerate the insult, Rambabu, in a fit of rage, took a khukuri (traditional Nepali blade) from his room and went to Asha’s rented house.
There, Asha was not alone—she was sleeping with her daughter Anjali and her niece Radha.
Rambabu forced the door open and began attacking everyone inside with the khukuri. As a result, Asha, her daughter Anjali, and her niece Radha were all injured.
Anjali died during treatment at the Provincial Hospital in Janakpurdham.
Asha is currently undergoing further treatment at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan. Her niece Radha, however, has already been discharged after receiving treatment.
According to Narahari Regmi, Chief of the Dhanusha District Police Office and Superintendent of Police (SP), the incident was purely the result of an extramarital affair.
“Asha and Rambabu were both married. Despite having a husband and wife respectively, they entered into an illicit relationship,” SP Regmi told Lokantar. “Rambabu fulfilled all of Asha’s demands. In the end, when she stopped answering his calls, it appears he attacked in a fit of rage with the intention to kill.”
In his statement to police, Rambabu admitted that he deeply loved Asha, but after feeling betrayed by her, he attacked with the khukuri intending to kill.
SP Regmi added, “Even after having served jail time once for murder, he has now committed yet another heinous crime.”
The police have also recovered the khukuri used by Rambabu in the attack.
