Manoj Thapa, 13, and Prem Sunar, 10, residing at the Nepal Avinash Anath Ashram, in Kotihava, Madhavliya, Rupandehi have gone missing since the morning of July 2, informed Rajya Laxmi Gupta, the district children welfare officer. [break]
Of the two, Manoj is an eye witness in an incident of sexual assault. It was emerged through him that Ashish Thapa, managing director of the orphanage, had frequently been molesting two girls at the orphanage.
"We have already filed a complaint with the local police office to find out the whereabouts of the missing boys," Gupta said. "We have been informed that police are searching for them."
Missing eye witness, Manoj Thapa
The disappearance of the eye witness has been seen as a ploy to weaken the case. A police officer at the Rupendehi District Police Office, who is investigating the case has described the disappearance as being ‘mysterious’.
The culprit´s father, Ramesh is the prime suspect in the case. Police believe that Prem, the other boy, was forced to disappear to avoid Ashish’s relatives being held under suspicion.
Altogether 28 children are currently residing in the orphanage. Another seven girls have been residing at a Maiti Nepal facility in Bhairahawa.
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