Nepal, Aug. 24 -- Following a recent sexual exploitation and murder of a three-year-old girl in Bara, the government on Saturday signed a three-point agreement with the victim's family, promising to form a committee for legislative reform. The committee is mandated to review current statutory provisions regarding offences and penalties for heinous crimes in accordance with 'citizens' expectations' and submit recommendations for legislative reform.

Amid widespread public outrage, demands for capital punishment for perpetrators in rape cases often resurface in Nepal. Just five months earlier, a similar case of a 16-year-old Dalit girl in Surkhet had also led to similar public outcry. In March, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary...