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Madhes Province has seen a rise in criminal activities in recent months, with several cases highlighting the deteriorating law and order situation.

On June 23, Ritadevi Yadav (50) of Kabilas in Aurahi-4 of Mahottari was killed by her brother-in-law, Jatan Yadav (45). According to the District Police Office, Mahottari, Jatan struck Ritadevi with a spade after a household dispute turned violent.

Earlier, on June 14, Haribhushan Kusbaha, the chief of Ramraja Multiple Campus in Kalaiya, was shot dead at Batara in Adarsha Kotwal-3. Police have arrested five people in connection with the case.

Similarly, on June 8, Raju Yadav of Sakhuwa Mahendranagar in Dhanusha filed a report stating his wife, Ruby (28), was missing. A police investigation later revealed that Raju had murdered Ruby and disposed of her body before filing the missing person report to appear innocent.

Additionally, police arrested Dipendra Ram (22) of Narakatiya in Paroha-8 of Rautahat for the murder of his sister, Tetari Kumari Ram (20), using a bamboo pole on June 23. According to the police, Dipendra attacked his sister during a household dispute.

Statistics from the Madhes Province Police Office show a significant increase in homicides, attempted murders, and other criminal cases over the past few years. Law enforcement officials and social activists attribute most of these crimes to disputes and family feuds.

The Madhes Province Police Office recorded 96 cases of willful murder in 2021/22. The number increased to 106 in 2022/23 and has already reached 101 in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, 271 cases of attempted murder were recorded in 2021/22. This number rose to 252 in 2022/23 and has reached 213 in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. According to the office, 8,454 criminal cases were recorded in 2021/22. This number increased to 9,844 in 2022/23 and has reached 8,664 in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.

SP Bhuvaneshwar Tiwari of the District Police Office, Dhanusha, cites deteriorating social values, the negative impacts of foreign employment, and the breakdown of traditional family structures as some of the reasons behind the rising number of criminal cases in Madhes Province. Most of those arrested in criminal cases are in the 19-35 age group.

"The minds of our youth are becoming breeding grounds for criminal thoughts," said Sushil Karna, a youth rights activist. "Even educated young people are unable to find employment. This lack of opportunities, combined with inadequate education and drug addiction, is pushing youth into a quagmire of crime," he said. "The open border with India allows easy access to drugs. Once under the influence of drugs, these youths lose their ability to think rationally, and they don’t hesitate to commit even heinous crimes."

Raju Paswan, a human rights activist, said that the lack of punishment for criminals is a major reason behind the rise in criminal cases. "Criminal tendencies in society have increased significantly, but the strict legal measures needed to discourage this haven’t been implemented," Paswan said. "Even existing laws aren't being effectively enforced."

He added that police often fail to initiate timely investigations and weaken cases due to pressure from political parties and leaders. "These factors have boosted the morale of criminals. To control such criminal activities, it’s necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the law," he emphasized.

Women’s rights activist Subhadra Ale pointed out that political protection often encourages criminals. "In most cases of violence against women, families of victims face pressure from all sides when trying to file a complaint with the police. Village leaders and local politicians often protect criminals without understanding the facts," Ale said. "Attempts are made to settle criminal cases with small amounts of money through community mediation in villages."

Advocate Rajkumar Mahasheth stressed the need for social awareness to control incidents of criminal activities and violence. "The primary causes behind increased rates of criminal activities are poverty and unemployment. Another factor is the decline in moral education in our society," he said. "Youths are trapped in addictions. With the lack of employment opportunities in the country, young people are forced to either go for foreign employment or resort to crime."

Monsoon is expected to be further active by Thursday. 

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the monsoon low pressure trough is likely to be positioned near the border of the southern part of Nepal, suggesting the possibility of the escalation of the monsoon.  Amidst this prediction, the Division has urged one and all to remain watchful of any untoward incidents and take precautions accordingly till July 4.

In this period, the weather will be generally to completely cloudy across the country with the possibility of light to moderate rains in most of the parts.  

A few parts of Koshi, Bagamati, Gandaki, and Lumbini Provinces and one or two parts of the Madhesh, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces are likely to witness heavy rains with lightning during the monsoon period.

Likewise, in the next three to four days, one/two parts of the Koshi, Gandaki, and Lumbini Provinces are likely to witness heavy rainfall. The Division said that Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Morang, Jhapa, Sunsari, Ilam, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Khotang, Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga in the Koshi Province are vulnerable to landslides and flooding in this monsoon.

Similarly, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Sindhupalchowk, and Dolakha in Bagmati Province, Myagdi, Baglung, Kaski, Parbat, Syangja, Tanahu, Nawalparasi East and Lamjung of the Gandaki Province are at high risk of natural disasters.

In the case of Lumbini Province, Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, Pyuthan, Nawalparasi West, Rolpa and Rukum East are at risk of disasters while no such high risk has been predicted in the Madhesh and Sudur Paschim provinces.

Today, it will be generally mostly cloudy throughout the country. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur in some places of the country and chances of heavy rainfall at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Sudurpashchim Provinces while there is possibility of very heavy rainfall at one or two places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.

Tonight, it will be generally mostly cloudy throughout the country. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur in some places of Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and at a few places in the rest of the country. Similarly, there are chances of heavy rainfall at a few places of Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and of very heavy rainfall at one or two places of Koshi and Gandaki.

Chandragiri Municipality has decided to deposit Rs 5,000 each in the name of children from July 16.

The municipality is introducing such a program for the first time for educational, financial and social security of the children within its boundary.

The municipality has adopted a policy to collect the amount by opening a fixed account in the name of the children of the permanent residents of the municipality. 

For this, birth registration of the children has been made mandatory. The municipality has also amended the Private Enterprise Promotion, Financial Assistance and Program Grant Operation Procedure, 2078 BS for the economic and social security of the children.

Chandragiri Municipality and NIC Asia Bank Limited have signed a bilateral agreement to operate the fixed accounts in the name of the children.

Mayor Ghanshyam Giri and Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the bank Arjun Raj Khaniya signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

As per the agreement, the maximum interest rate will be provided by opening an account with zero balance, the municipality shared.

On the occasion, Mayor Giri shared that the program is being implemented for the educational, economic and social security of children after 18 years of their age. "The deposits can ease the children after 18 years and for pursuing higher education or running a business", he said, urging the parents to ensure some additional money to their children's accounts.

The parliamentary special committee formed to investigate the misuse of depositors' funds by various cooperatives decided to ask for essential documents from 20 cooperatives.

A meeting of the committee held in Singha Durbar on Sunday decided to ask for essential documents from 20 cooperatives, committee coordinator Surya Thapa informed.

He said that the committee will study and start the investigation after receiving all the sought documents from the cooperatives.

Earlier, the committee held a discussion with Radha Krishna Mainali, coordinator the taskforce formed by the interim government in 1990 and Gauri Bahadur Karki, chairman of the then Investigation Commission, about the issues of cooperatives.

Thapa said that the committee will conduct a study on the basis of past experiences and will reach a conclusion.

A parliamentary committee was formed on May 28 to investigate the embezzlement of depositors’ money by various cooperatives.

The government formed the committee after the main opposition Nepali Congress obstructed the Parliament meeting for a long-time demanding formation of the parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

The committee was formed under the headship of CPN-UML leader Thapa.