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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

They Had Stopped Hoping to Find Him Alive. Then They Found a Hand

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Raj Kumar Diyali, his wife and their four-year-old son disappeared in the Aug. 26 Bhotekoshi flood in Nepal, and relatives have been unable to find them.
  • A nephew found a human hand downstream in Nawalpur, prompting the family to send a sample to Kathmandu for DNA testing.
  • The sample is 182nd in line for testing as relatives wait for confirmation of whether it belongs to Raj Kumar.

For Raj Kumar Diyali’s family, the search has narrowed to a single question: whether a decomposing hand carried downstream by floodwaters belongs to the missing jeweller.

The hand surfaced in Nawalpur on Sunday, five days after the Aug. 26 flood swept through the Bhotekoshi area. Raj Kumar, 33, his 30-year-old wife Shriti and their four-year-old son Siraj have not been seen since. The family had been living in Syaphrubesi, Rasuwa, where Raj Kumar ran the area’s only jewellery business for about 15 years.

Avinash sent me a photo on WhatsApp saying, ‘Dad, I found a hand that looks exactly like uncle’s.’

· Amrit DiyaliHe described the message from his nephew after the hand was found downstream.

Relatives travelled as far as Chitwan and Nawalpur, searching through mud and stones. At first, they held on to the possibility that the family might still be alive. Then the search became more desperate: if they could not find survivors, they wanted at least to recover the bodies.

Looking at it, it really does look like my brother’s. The fingers, the shape of the nails, everything.

· Amrit DiyaliHe explained why the family suspects the hand may belong to Raj Kumar.

Raj Kumar’s nephew Avinash found the hand and sent a photograph to his father, Amrit Diyali. “Avinash sent me a photo on WhatsApp saying, ‘Dad, I found a hand that looks exactly like uncle’s,’” Amrit said. “Looking at it, it really does look like my brother’s. The fingers, the shape of the nails, everything.”

Amrit sent a sample to the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Kathmandu on Tuesday. It is 182nd in line for testing, leaving the family waiting for an answer. “We have stopped hoping for anything else,” Amrit said. “Even if that hand turns out to be my brother’s, at least we would know for sure.”

We have stopped hoping for anything else. Even if that hand turns out to be my brother’s, at least we would know for sure.

· Amrit DiyaliHe described the family’s anguish while waiting for DNA testing.

Raj Kumar’s sister Rama Diyali said the family had moved permanently to Rasuwa after their parents died, renting out their home in Jhapa. “They would come back only during festivals and then return,” she said. “Even now, we keep looking down the road, wondering when my brother will come home.” His nephew Sachin Khati survived only because Raj Kumar sent him to Chilime to deliver jewellery minutes before the flood. When Sachin returned, he said, the entire village had been swept away.

Even now, we keep looking down the road, wondering when my brother will come home.

· Rama DiyaliRaj Kumar’s sister described the family’s continuing uncertainty.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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