Himal Press 
SURKHET: The Supreme Court has ordered the release of three minors who had been detained in connection with the alleged rape and murder of 16-year-old Inisha BK of Surkhet.
A division bench of the Supreme Court Justices Saranga Subedi and Nripdhwaj Niraula on Tuesday overturned detention orders issued by the Surkhet District Court and the Surkhet High Court.
The bench has ordered authorities to release the three minors into the custody of their parents or responsible family members while proceedings in the case continue.
The order means the three minors, identified as Birendranagar (D), Birendranagar (F) and Birendranagar (N), need not remain in a juvenile correction home until a final verdict is passed.
The Surkhet District Court had sent all four minors, including the main accused, to a juvenile correction home pending trial on March 31. The Surkhet High Court upheld the order on May 7.
The parents of the three minors had challenged the lower court orders at the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court said the three minors had denied the allegations against them in statements given to police and the court. It also noted that the main accused, Birendranagar (Pa), had not implicated the three minors in the incident. The court further said an analysis of CCTV footage from around the crime scene did not indicate that the three minors needed to be kept in a juvenile correction home pending trial.
However, their release does not exempt them from appearing before the court when required until the case is concluded. The Supreme Court has also barred them from leaving the country without prior permission from the court.
Inisha, a permanent resident of Badakholi in Gurbhakot-6, had left home at around 6 a.m. on March 7, 2026, saying she was going to tuition classes. At around 9 a.m., she was found unconscious in Janajagaran Community Forest, north of Birendranagar-4.
Police had arrested Birendranagar (Pa) on the same day.
