Nirmala's parents fall ill amidst ongoing indefinite sit-in

KANCHANPUR, Nov 17: The DNA samples of four more suspects do not matched the sample taken from 13-year-old rape and murder victim Nirmala Pant.

Krishna Ojha, investigation officer at District Police Office(DPO) Kanchanpur, informed on Friday that the DNA samples of four more suspects did not matched with the victim's vaginal swab. Police had sent the DNA samples to the forensic lab before Tihar. As almost all the evidence in the case has been destroyed , police are now banking on DNA samples.

So far, they have tested the DNA samples of nine suspects but the results have been negative. Earlier, the DNA samples of Chakra Badu, Dilip Bista, then SP Dilli Bista, his son Kiran and nephew Ayush Bista were tested.

Following accusations of character assassination against innocent people by dragging them into the case, police this time have not disclosed the names of the latest four suspects. "We have a few more suspects whose DNA will be tested soon," said SP Kuber Kathayat .

SP Kathayat also informed that the cell phone call details of more than 1,000 people are being checked and filtered to find out more about the heinous crime. Some have accused the police of torturing the innocent through unnecessary DNA testings.

In their own defense, the police have claimed that the sole intention is to find proof that is scientific. In other countries DNA samples of more than 7,000 people have been tested in a single case, Kathayat said.

Many locals say that as the police have destroyed all the evidence they refuse to believe the vaginal swab they are now using really belongs to Nirmala.

Birendra KC, a then member of the high-level probe committee, had raised questions over the legality of the DNA samples before he resigned from the committee. Three and a half months since the rape and murder, police are still nowhere closer to finding any strong evidence.Nirmala's parents start falling ill

The parents of Nirmala Pant, who have been staging a sit-in in front of the district administration office (DAO) since the past six days, have started falling ill. Demanding justice for their daughter, Niramala's father Yagyaraj and mother Durgadevi have remained outside the DAO since last Sunday.

Extreme cold especially at night and in the mornings has taken its toll on their health. Yagyaraj said he has not been able to eat anything due to fever since the last two days. On the other hand, his wife has been complaining of pain in the waist and a common cold. "I often have this pain during the cold," said Durgadevi, adding," We have no choice but to continue the sit-in for the sake of justice for our daughter."

On Friday, Provincial Minister for Internal Affairs and Law Prakash Bahadur Shah visited the Pant couple to assure them that the government is serious about finding the guilty. He urged them to take care of their health. "He assured that government is not going to spare the guilty whatever the cost," said Durgadevi. People from various places have joined the couple to show solidarity in their protest.

 
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