The police conducted DNA tests on 124 people and questioned more than 1,000. This is probably the only case where the DNA of the police officer assigned to the investigation was tested. This case is also one of the cases where the most investigation committees were formed and interest was shown. However, the culprit has not been identified yet.
Durgadevi Panta of Bhimdatta Municipality-2, Ultakham, doesn't like talking to new people who come to her house these days. She is consumed by the 7 years of running and frustration she spent in search of justice. She wants those who come to her house not to inquire about her daughter Nirmala and not to ask where the police investigation has gone. When Kantipur brought up the matter, Durgadevi said, "I won't talk about it."
On 10 Shrawan 2075, 13-year-old Nirmala, who had gone to study at her friend's house, was found dead in a sugarcane field in Bhimdutt-18, a short distance from her home on the morning of the second day. Immediately after the incident, a team led by the then DSP Angur GC of the CIB and a team from the District Police Office jointly started an investigation. The police investigation revealed that she was raped and murdered. There was also a pressure movement to find the killer right after the incident.
Locals allege that the police have been negligent in securing the scene of the crime and collecting evidence since the discovery of Nirmala's body. They claim that the police tried to erase evidence because of the involvement of a 'VIP' in the incident. Activities such as washing Nirmala's clothes at the scene of the crime and not securing the scene of the crime were made public in the video.
The last rites were performed in Mahakali on 14 Shrawan, the fourth day after Nirmala's body was found. On 4 Bhadra, the police had made Dilip Singh Bista of Ultakham, Bhimdutt-2 public as the main accused. The movement further flared up after he was made public. The police had to open fire to control the protest.
On 8 Bhadra, Sunny Khuna of Bhimdutt-18 died after being shot by the police. The day before that, the police had also fired tear gas and bullets. More than 10 people were injured in the shooting.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on 7 Bhadra pulled the then SP Dilliraj Bista to the department and assigned Kuber Khadka. On the same day, a high-level investigation committee was formed under the coordination of the then Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Hari Prasad Mainali. The committee reached Mahendranagar on 8 Bhadra and started the investigation. The committee also concluded that the police were negligent in preserving evidence and conducting the investigation.
The then Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal had also reached Mahendranagar and said that the police had made mistakes in the investigation. He met Nirmala's family on 11 Bhadra and expressed his opinion at a public program organized in Mahendranagar the next day that the police organization had been defamed due to incompetent police.
Separate investigation committees led by the National Human Rights Commission and the then AIG Dhiru Basnyat also found negligence in the investigation. For this reason, 8 police officers, including the then SP Dilli Bista, were suspended. A case was also filed against them in the district court for destroying evidence and torturing them during the investigation. They were acquitted by the court.
For justice for Nirmala, her father Yagyaraj Panta and mother Durgadevi, along with other family members and civil society leaders, staged a sit-in for months in front of the District Administration Office. Protests were held repeatedly. The victim's family also met the Home Minister and the Prime Minister and expressed their pain.
Some of the police officers involved in the Nirmala case have already retired. Nine police chiefs have also been replaced in the District Police Office. Even now, the first question that a new SP faces when he joins the District Police Office is 'How will Nirmala's investigation proceed?' A regular question at every press conference organized by the police is, ‘What is the investigation into Nirmala?’ The police always answer, ‘We are still investigating, nothing new has been revealed yet.’
The police have already tested the DNA of 124 people during the investigation. More than 1,000 people have been questioned for the investigation alone. This is probably the only case where the DNA of a police officer deployed for the investigation has been tested. The Nirmala case is one of the cases where the most investigation committees have been formed and where a lot of attention has been paid to it along with a lot of expenses. But the culprit has not been found yet.
SP Khadak Bahadur Khatri of the District Police Office, Kanchanpur, says that the investigation is still ongoing. ‘The process of questioning, looking at evidence, and investigating from another vein is ongoing,’ he says, ‘Now it will be new only when the culprit is found.’
According to SP Khatri, DSP Sagar Bohra of the District Police Office has now been designated as the investigation officer. ‘The CIB is also conducting a separate investigation. We have not coordinated on that,' he said, 'It is a challenge for us, we are taking a subtle approach.'
After becoming the Home Minister on 17 Falgun 2079, Rastriya Swatantra Party President Ravi Lamichhane had said while taking office, 'As Home Minister, I have made the first decision to bring justice to Nirmala Pant. When he became Home Minister for the second time in Asad 2081, Lamichhane had stated that the investigation into the Nirmala case had reached the final stage. He had said at that time, 'We have come very close to the issue of Nirmala Pant.'
During this period, the police chief and the home minister changed 7 times each. Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak, who was from his home district and took to the streets for justice for Nirmala, has since become the home minister. Everyone who comes as the police chief of Kanchanpur has said something or the other about bringing justice to Nirmala Pant. But Durgadevi has stopped believing such things now.
The sugarcane fields in Nimbukheda, where Nirmala Panta was raped and murdered, have also been destroyed. There are wheat fields there. But Durgadevi finds it difficult to go anywhere along that road. She is not even aware of whether the police are currently investigating or not, and has not shown any interest. ‘I can’t even think anymore, I can’t even cry, tears have stopped coming from my eyes,’ Durgadevi said in an interview with Kantipur, ‘Now the hope for justice is dead.’
