MAHENDRANAGAR, Oct 14: Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Police Dhiru Basnet-led probe committee on Friday arrived here in Kanchanpur for the investigation of the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta.
Kanchanpur police chief Kuber Singh Kadayat said the team is consulting with the police officers to know their role in tracing the hidden truth. The team reached Mahendranagar for further investigation immediately after landing in the district. The team is scheduled to meet Nirmala's family members and other victims. Later, they will make a field visit to the site where Nirmala's body was found.
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Also, the committee will interact with the Kanchanpur Security Committee, right activists, civil society leaders, journalists, among others, to seek more information on the case.
The committee has already recorded the statements of suspended Superintendent of Police, Dilliraj Bista, Deputy Superintendents Angur GC and Gyan Bahadur Sethi, Police Inspector Ekendra Khadka, Jagdish Bhatta, and Ram Singh Dhami. Not just that, the statements of 10 other security personnel involved in the investigation have been recorded as well.Two more security personnel have been suspended following the report submitted by the High-level committee and the recommendation by AIG Basnyat.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Hari Singh Dhami and Constable Chandani Saud were suspended recently for their negligence in the case.A nine-member committee led by AIG Basnyat was formed for further investigation into the Nirmala Panta rape and murder case as the role of police officials investigating the case earlier was found to be suspicious. It has already been 80 days since the rape and murder of Nirmala but the case is becoming more mysterious with each passing day. Despite forming several committees, no proper evidence has been found against the perpetrator(s).
The officials of Central Investigation Bureau, Nepal Police and other security authorities are involved in the investigation. Earlier, a high level committee submitted a report stating that there were flaws in the investigation conducted by the police. Nirmala was found dead on July 27, a day after she went missing.
