Pokhara – A squatter settlement. A poor family. Only a husband and wife living in a small hut. Now, the hut stands desolate. The man who brought in a younger wife has now killed her.

58-year-old Jange Sarki, originally from Ribhan in Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality–5, Kaski, and his 53-year-old wife Jamuna Nepali, also known as Chhunu, had been living in a temporary hut at Shanti Khare in Pokhara–27 Ritthepani for the last 20 years. Jange married Jamuna after his first wife left him and remarried elsewhere 35 years ago, leaving behind their one-year-old son.

Jamuna raised the infant son as her own. That son now lives with his wife back in Ribhan. In Ritthepani, only Jange and Jamuna lived together. Jange worked as a mason while Jamuna handled household chores to survive.

On the 8th of Shrawan (July 23), Jamuna was found dead inside the hut. Upon receiving information that she had died inside her own room, Kaski police began an investigation, questioning suspicious individuals and monitoring the situation. They detained her husband, Jange, the same day.

It was revealed that an argument had occurred over selling a piece of land. In the heat of the dispute, Jange punched Jamuna twice, causing her head to hit the wall and leading to her death. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Hari Bahadur Basnet, this came out during their investigation and interrogation of suspects. Jange was detained on the 8th of Shrawan.

On Sunday, Kaski police held a press conference to share preliminary findings. According to police, on the night of the 6th of Shrawan (July 21), around 10 PM, after having dinner and a glass of alcohol, Jange proposed to Jamuna that they sell their land. When she refused, he punched her, and her head hit the wall.

After leaving his unconscious wife inside, Jange went to sleep in a tin shed outside their hut. The next morning, on the 7th of Shrawan, he went to a neighbor’s house for tea, then headed to meet a contractor in Shishuwo to collect payment. Failing to meet the contractor all day, he returned home in the evening, cooked food for himself, ate alone, and ignored his wife.

On the 8th of Shrawan, he again went to a relative’s house nearby for tea and headed back to Shishuwo. Even by the third day after the incident, Jange made no effort to check on or look for his wife. Around 5:15 PM that day, neighbors noticed a foul smell coming from Jange’s house and alerted the police. By then, Jamuna’s body had started to decay.

Kaski Police Chief SP Shyambabu Olia stated that the district court has granted a six-day extension to detain Sarki under investigation for a case related to homicide.