Police have made public the suspects arrested in connection with the rape and death of 17-year-old Rinku Kumari Sada of Bhagwatipur in ward 1 of Nawarajpur Rural Municipality in Siraha.

The District Police Office, Siraha, revealed their identities during a press meet on Friday.

According to police, eight individuals have been arrested so far. Among them, the prime accused in the rape case, Rupesh Mandal, and ward member Nathuni Sah, who was involved in the so-called “panchayat” proceedings, have been detained.

Others arrested include locals Ramkripal Mandal, Bindeshwar Sah, Rajendra Mandal, Chandeshwar Mandal, Ramvinod Mandal, and Kamlesh Das.

Rupesh, Nathuni, Ramkripal, and Bindeshwar were named in the police complaint, while the others were involved in the informal panchayat meeting regarding the case. Chandeshwar, Ramvinod, and Kamlesh were arrested on February 23.

The prime accused, Rupesh, was arrested on Wednesday, while the remaining four were taken into custody on Friday morning from different locations in the district, where they had been hiding, said Siraha police spokesperson Birendra Kumar Paswan.

The suspects are being investigated following the remand granted by the Siraha District Court. Police have mobilised separate teams to track down other individuals involved in the case.

On the night of February 9, Sada reportedly stepped out of her home to relieve herself, after which she was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three local men, including Mandal. According to her family, Sada returned home the next morning in tears.

Rather than filing a police complaint immediately, local leaders convened a panchayat (informal village mediation) on February 11 and February 12 to settle the matter. The panchayat reportedly fined the perpetrators Rs140,000 and barred the victim’s family from approaching the police.

As tensions escalated and threats against her family grew, Sada was found hanging in her home on February 12, raising suspicions of coercion and foul play. The police initially registered a First Information Report (FIR) for abetment of suicide but expanded the investigation following media coverage and public outcry.