Rape and murder of toddler in Nepal sparks calls for the death penalty

The rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl in Nepal has sparked widespread outrage and protests in the Himalayan country, with activists and politicians demanding tougher laws on rape, including calls for the death penalty to be imposed for the crime.The little girl went missing from her home in Bara, about 80 miles south of the capital Kathmandu, on August 16. Her body was found at an abandoned house three days later. Police registered a case of rape and murder and have arrested nine suspects, including a bus driver and a 16-year-old boy who worked on the same bus, who they accuse of luring the girl into the attack with chocolate.Outrage over the attack led to protests that lasted several days, with angry demonstrators, many of them young people, blocking highways around the capital. A child and others participate in a protest in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 22, 2026, demanding justice for a 3-year-old girl who was raped and murdered. Safal Prakash Shrestha/NurPhoto/Getty Protesters shouted slogans denouncing the police and government over alleged delays in taking action to find the missing girl, and then to find the perpetrators. There has also been pointed criticism of Prime Minister Ba...