Demanding the government to capture and prosecute the people who raped and murdered Nirmala Pant, women’s rights activists performed Homa— Hindu ritual where various offerings are made to fire in return for fulfilment of a wish— in Kanchanpur, on Wednesday.
Demanding the government to capture and prosecute the people who raped and murdered Nirmala Pant, women’s rights activists performed Homa— Hindu ritual where various offerings are made to fire in return for fulfilment of a wish— in Kanchanpur, on Wednesday.
The symbolic protest was staged outside the District Administration Office in Mahendranagar, coinciding with what would have been the 14th birthday of Nirmala.
The teenager’s mother Durga Devi also participated in the protest that was organised by the Citizens’ Struggle Committee.
“It has been 140 days since my daughter was killed, but the authorities have still not identified the culprits. This Homa ritual was performed with the wish that the real perpetrators are arrested,” said Durga Devi.
“We do not want police framing innocent people any more,” she added, referring to the incident where police had paraded a mentally disabled person as the Nirmala’s murderer.
Nepal Police has once again been accused of using coercion tactics to frame two innocent persons in the case.
After completing the ritual, the committee also sent Prasad (sacred offerings) to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa through the chief district officer.
Thirteen-year-old Nirmala was found dead in a sugar cane filed in Bhimdatta Municipality on July 27, a day after she was reported missing.
The case has captured national attention and outrage after it was revealed that police had destroyed evidence from the site where Nirmala’s body was discovered.
In the wake of the incident, the government formed several committees to investigate into the case, but none succeeded in identifying the culprits.
Protesters believe that the perpetrators have high political connection and that the government is deliberately protecting their identities.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the latest suspects in the Nirmala murder case continued to stage protest in Mahendranagar on Wednesday, claiming that the government and the police were trying to frame them.
Friends and families of Pradeep Rawal and Bishal Chaudhari demonstrated at Traffic Chowk throughout the day demanding their release.
They said Rawal and Chaudhari were forced to confess to the crime that they did not commit.
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