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Case filed against SP Bista, seven others on Nirmala rape and murder case



Nrimala Panta, Nirmala Panta rape and murder case, SP Dilli Raj Bista

KANCHANPUR, March 8: A case has been registered at Kanchanpur District Court against eight police officials for allegedly meting out torture and destroying evidences associated to the rape and subsequent murder of Nirmala Panta – a 13-year-old girl from Bhimdutta municipality-2 of Kanchanpur.

The dead body of Nirmala was found in a nearby sugarcane field on July 27 last year.

Nirmala’s mother Durga Devi Panta on 18 December 2018 had filed a FIR at the police office against eight persons, including suspended Superintendant of Police Dilli Raj Bista for allegedly spoiling evidences and torturing mentally challenged Dilip Singh Bista.

Following the murder, the police, organizing a hasty press conference, had tried to frame Dilip as the main suspect of the rape and murder of the school girl. But he was later proved innocent.  Dilip was held in police detention and tortured to forcefully accept his involvement in the murder of Nirmala.

Acting on a FIR lodged by Durga Devi and Dilip’s brother Khadga Singh Bista, the government attorney office on Wednesday had registered separate cases at the district court.

A case was filed against suspended SP Bista, DSP Gyan Bahadur Sethi, DSP at central investigation bureau Angoor GC and Police Inspector Ekendra Khadka, alleging their involvement in torture.

Likewise, another case was registered against Polie Inspector Jagadish Bhatta, Sub Inspector Ram Siingh Dhami, Hari Singh Dhami and police constable Chandani Saud, charging them for destroying evidences to botch up the investigation.

Krishna Raj Ojha, DSP, Kanchanpur District Police Office, informed other six persons excluding suspended SP Bista and DSP GC were made available to the court. “Six police personnel now are in police detention”, he further informed.

“With their presence before the court the collection of explanation from them has started”, he said, adding it may take 2-3 days to collect explanation from the accused.

It has been seven months since the rape and murder of Panta. But the real culprits of the murder of Panta are still clueless.

Multiple probe committees have been formed to investigate into the crime, but lapses in DNA tests, lost CCTV footages of the nearby hotel Opera, local police officers tampering with the evidence, autopsy conclusion that the girl’s vocal cord was broken, framing mentally challenged Dilip as main suspect and torturing and forcing him to accept his involvement, Kanchanpur Police Chief SP Bista and Chief District Officer Kumar Bahadur Khadka mishandling of the case, high drama of investigation panels and arrests of a number of suspect and their negative DNA test results have added complexities to the case.

Also Read: Nirmala rape and murder case Nepal Police’s top priority: Spokesperson Subedi

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