Maoists have killed a homeless Dalit widow in Bardiya leaving two young orphans. Humadevi Sunar of Patabhar VDC-9 Bardiya was brutally murdered on 29 December, ostensibly for being an informer. Following the death of her husband two years ago, Humadevi was living in a shack built on a plot of land given to her by her parents in Shantinagar. Her five and two-year-old children are living with their uncle. Jeevan, the older child, witnessed his mother's murder, "They said they were army men. When mother opened the door, they kicked her. When she fell, they took her to the verandah and beat her. After they left, grandmother carried mother in but she couldn't make her sit up." The children and their grandparents are terrified. They have taken shelter with relatives in Gulariya, the district headquarters.

The army had been conducting operations against Maoists in Rajapur two weeks previously and had stayed at Humadevi's shop in Shantinagar. According to Humadevi's father, the security men then killed six of eight Maoists who were living in Narbir Bishwakarma, Humadevi's uncle's home. Following the killings, both Humadevi's uncles, Narbir and Maniram Bishwakarma, were arrested by the security forces on the grounds of sheltering Maoists. The Maoists have also threatened Humadevi's family that they will kill the deceased's two uncles and an aunt for being police informers.

Humadevi's elderly parents are now worried about the future of their grandchildren. How can they raise and educate two small children when they themselves are finding it difficult to make ends meet?