After suspending the investigation for a long time, Nepal Police has taken a fresh initiative to find the culprits behind the murder of teenage girl Nirmala Panta. The police have formed a seven-member high-level special committee led by Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dipak Thapa to investigate the rape and subsequent murder of 13-year-old Panta. The committee also includes SSP Bhupendra Khatri from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and SP Hobindra Bogati from the Central Investigation Bureau. The probe committee has already started collecting evidence for the investigation after receiving suggestions and detailed information about the case, which took place some six years ago. The investigation team will try to understand the lapses of the previous investigations and correct the mistakes to reach the perpetrator(s). The case of Panta’s murder has remained an unsolved mystery for Nepal Police, which otherwise has maintained a sterling record in resolving far more complex criminal cases. In this sense, the fresh initiative taken by the police to resolve the mystery surrounding the rape and murder case is a step in the right direction. The successful resolution of the case will not only help provide justice to the victim’s family but also remove the dark stain this failure has left on Nepal Police’s history of investigation.
More than six years have elapsed since ninth-grader Panta of Bhimdatta Municipality-2 of Kanchanpur, who had left home to visit her friend Roshani Bam, was found raped and subsequently murdered in a sugarcane field near her home on July 27, 2018, a day after she went missing. In the past six years, six different probe committees were formed. But the case remains on the tip of the tongue of the general public as a heartbreaking unsolved mystery in Nepal’s criminal history, raising questions about the credibility and ability of Nepal Police’s investigation procedures. The public’s skepticism of the police investigation started when the initial investigation by a team of local police personnel allegedly first refused to search for Panta after her parents reported her missing, then tampered with the crime scene by washing the victim’s trousers. This act was recorded on video, which went viral on social media, drawing public outrage. The police investigation into the case was so shambolic that the government had to form probe committees one after another, but with no substantial progress in terms of tracing the guilty.
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The successful resolution of Panta’s rape and murder case is critically important for several reasons. While this provides an opportunity for Nepal Police to rebuild public trust, it would also set a precedent for justice. Police have been accused of showing gross negligence in handling this particular case, including tampering with evidence. The failure to arrest the perpetrator behind the murder sparked a series of protests nationwide for months. A fair resolution of the case would help restore confidence in the institution’s ability to apprehend culprits and deliver justice. The inability of the police to resolve such a high-profile criminal case despite the formation of several probe committees undermines the credibility of the police institution as a whole. A fair and transparent resolution of the case will demonstrate their commitment to accountability and their capacity to address crimes of a complex nature. It will also set a benchmark for handling future cases of sexual violence. Above all, a fair and transparent resolution of the case will reassure the public that the police take their responsibilities seriously and that perpetrators of heinous crimes will not go unpunished, even if justice comes late.
