Bishal Chaudhary, who was arrested and later released in connection with the rape and murder of Nirmala Pant, was taken to Kathmandu for medical examination on Monday.

Bishal’s family said he has been showing signs of confusion and having panic fits ever since he was freed from police custody on Saturday. They fear that Bishal might be suffering from mental illness as a result of police torture.  

Police had handed over Bishal to his family members on Saturday after his DNA sample did not match with the vaginal swab collected from Nirmala.

Following his arrest in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, on December 6, he transported to Kathmandu where he was interrogated by a team from the Nepal Police Central Investigation Bureau.  

Upon his release, Bishal had told the media that he was tortured by Kanchanpur police before he was taken to Kathmandu.

He also claimed that he had admitted to raping and murdering 13-year-old Nirmala on July 26, fearing that he might be tortured further more.

Based on Bishal’s statement, allegedly forced out of him with use of threats and coercion, Nepal Police has been insisting that he was involved in Nirmala’s murder.

Even after the DNA evidence ruled him out as a suspect and was subsequently released from custody, police are still maintaining that he did have an involvement in the crime.

Bishal’s father Bir Bahadur on Monday filed a complaint at the National Human Rights Commission’s regional office in Dhangadi, stating that police had tortured his son in custody. He has appealed to the human rights body to investigate into the matter.