Chhori Maiya Maharjan, a resident of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

went missing on 18 February 2012 when she was 51 years old. In 2021, the missing was listed as twelve most mysterious cases of Nepal in recent history.

Early response

The Ministry of Home Affairs formed a committee on 12 August 2012 led by Gokarna Mani Duwadi, Joint Secretary of the ministry, which was supposed to submit a report within seven days.

One year later

One year after she went missing, in 2013, Asian Human Rights Commission issued an appeal for a stronger investigation into the disappearance.

Two years later

Two years later she went missing, in 2014, Asian Human Rights Commission issued an open letter demanding justice. On 2 June 2014, Kathmandu District Court on Monday gave a clean chit to Nikki Singh, the prime accused in the disappearance. The family members condemned the judgment as partial. It was also reported that the court arrived at its judgement at 9:50 pm, while the working hours are only for 5 pm, and the judge did not ask permission for over time work.

Investigation

It was revealed that the prime suspect Nikki Singh owed Maharjan around 5 million. The investigation by the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that Maharjan was forcefully disappeared, and that there’s strong evidence of Singh's.

2021 resurge

The case took a resurge on social media in 2021. On 31 July 2021, a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page ''Routine of Nepal Banda'' posted about the case ten years ago. It led to upsurge in search about the case. #JusticeForChhorimaiyaMaharjan hashtag trended for weeks in Nepal the same month. An online media ''Ukera'' dedicated several investigative articles on the case. It also marked attempts of cyber hacking to take down the website of ''Ukera''. People over social media called out celebrities

Priyanka Karki Priyanka Karki DS Joshi is a Nepalese film actress, model, director, writer and the winner of the Miss Teen Nepal 2005 pageant. Early life Karki was born in 1987 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her parents are Bhupendra Karki and Raksha Malhotra. ...

and Zenisha Moktan on their involvement in the case, as Nikki Singh was Karki Singh's sister's daughter and Moktan was sister's husband's daughter in law.

Active campaigns

As of 2021, a petition was launched demanding re-opening of the case. A pressure committee namely ''Chhori Maiya Khoji Dabab Samuha'' (Chhori Maiya Search Pressure Committee) is active on Facebook.

References

2012 in Nepal 2010s in Nepal 2010s missing person cases Missing person cases in Nepal 21st-century Nepalese women 21st century in Kathmandu {{Nepal-hist-stub