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Kanchanpur rape and murder: Nirmala’s parents dissatisfied with report
The parents of Nirmala Pant, who was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur, said they are dissatisfied with the report submitted by a high-level probe committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.Bhawani Bhatta
The parents of Nirmala Pant, who was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur, said they are dissatisfied with the report submitted by a high-level probe committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
On Sunday, the ministry published the report after an intense pressure and widespread criticism from public regarding the government’s handling of the case. People have been complaining that the government has not done enough to find the culprits.
“The report is not satisfactory. It only includes the facts that were already known, and could not identify the perpetrators,” said Durga Devi, Nirmala’s mother.
The panel, led by Joint-secretary Hari Prasad Mainali, was formed on August 20 to uncover the gruesome incident.
In its findings, the report states that Kanchanpur Police remained indifferent to Durga Devi’s complaint that her daughter had gone missing, and the police had not searched for her even after her bicycle was spotted. It also charges police with “grave negligence and carelessness” while collecting pieces of evidence from the crime scene.
The report added that the then-district police chief SP Dilip Singh Bista, who has been suspended after it was revealed that police had destroyed the evidence, failed to deploy security personnel in required numbers for the search of Nirmala Pant. The report concluded that SP Bista and Bam sisters—Anita alias ‘Babita’ and Anchal alias ‘Roshani’— from whose house Nirmala had gone missing, should be investigated in the case. “The rights activists should be kept as witness while recording the statement of Bam sisters,” demanded Durga Devi.
The victim’s family has also demanded the police to arrest SP Bista and remand him into custody for investigation.
“We condemn the report’s advice to only take departmental action against the police officers involved in destroying the evidence,” said Yagya Raj Pant, Nirmala’s father. “Stronger action needs to be taken against them.”
“It’s only a due process. There are no concrete facts in the report,” said advocate Punam Chand. Police are yet to point out the incident site as they suspect that the body of Nirmala was dumped at the sugarcane field after killing her elsewhere, she said.
Bhawaraj Regmi, coordinator the Kanchanpur Citizen’s Society, said the report of the high-level probe committee is just presented for formality.
“People had a great expectation from the committee, but it turned out to be a disappointment,” said Regmi.
Nirmala was found murdered on a sugarcane field in Bhimdutta Municipality of Kanchanpur on July 27, a day after she was reported missing. Postmortem report showed that the teenager had been raped and strangulated to death.