Sisters who fled to Nepal claiming job hunt in Bangalore found dead in Bhaktapur

KATHMANDU: Two teenage girls were found dead in Bhaktapur’s Sintitar area early this morning.

The deceased have been identified as 17-year-old Menuka Kandel and 15-year-old Sirjana Kandel from Panchapuri Municipality-8, Surkhet.

According to police, the sisters were found hanging from the same rope in the passage of a rented room on the ground floor of a two-storey house owned by Niraj Chakradhar.

They had been living there for less than a month.

Originally residing in India with their parents, Menuka and Sirjana had been studying computer classes while also helping their parents with work.

However, around 18–19 days ago, they went missing after leaving for class and never returned home.

Their worried parents began searching for them and even informed relatives in Nepal.

Three days after disappearing, Sirjana messaged her mother saying that they had moved to Bangalore to earn money and requested not to be searched for.

She then blocked her family on Facebook.

Following this message, the family assumed they were safe and stopped the search.

However, their grandfather, Anantalal Kandel, had informed the local ward office in Nepal about their disappearance.

Ward chairperson Deepak Thapa stated that Anantalal had visited the office a few days ago to report the girls missing, but after the message from Sirjana, no further action was taken.

Thapa suspects the girls may have been lured back to Nepal by someone, though there were no signs of family conflict and their home environment was reportedly stable. “They might have been influenced by someone or misled into returning,” Thapa told Makalu Khabar.

The tragic news of the sisters’ death has left their hometown in shock. Police have informed the family, and their parents are now returning to Nepal from India.

An investigation is currently underway, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Navaraj Dhungana of the Thimi Police Circle.

-Yakendra Khatri