KANCHANPUR, July 25: Three years have shot by since the Nirmala Panta rape and murder case shook the entire nation. Although an investigation committee was formed to go probe the case, they have not been able to solve the case so far. As the police fail to catch the culprit behind the murder of Nirmala Panta, the case still remains a mystery even three years after the incident. 

According to Siddharaj Neupane, spokesperson and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)of the District Police Office, Kanchanpur, they have not been able to catch the culprit yet. “We are still investigating the case but we have not found any leads to nab the culprit behind the murder of Nirmala Panta,” he said. Lack of evidence and eyewitnesses have made it difficult to come to any conclusions, Neupane added. 

The investigation into the murder case has been narrowed, Basanta Kunwar, spokesperson for Nepal Police Headquarters and SSP informed Republica. “We would have released a statement by now if we had arrested the culprit. Although we are still unsure, we believe that we are close to solving the case,” SSP Kunwar said. 

Three teams investigating the case

Three teams have been deployed to the Sudurpaschchim Province to investigate the case of Nirmala Panta. Teams of investigators have been deployed in the region one after another for three years. There are currently three investigation teams in Kanchanpur that are trying to solve the case. 

A team from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police led by DSP Neupane, an investigation team of Provincial Police Office, and a team from the District Police Office are conducting separate investigations into the case, DSP Neupane said. “We have interrogated 600 people and tested the DNA of about 100 people,” he said.

A month ago, Durga Devi Panta, mother of Nirmala Panta, visited the District Police Office to inquire about the findings of the investigation. “All they said is that the investigation is underway,” she said. I have been hearing the same answer over and over again. I am unsure if they will ever get to the bottom of this case,” she said. “Have the police found anything yet?” she added. “If they had wanted, they would have already arrested the culprit. No one is there to give us any justice, I have lost all hope,” Durga Devi said.

After three years of investigation, Nirmala’s parents have lost their hope of getting justice. Durga Devi said that she had filed a case against Dilip Bista in August 2019 out of suspicion. If Bista is not the culprit, the police should find the murderer, she said. Although Durga devi had filed a complaint against Bista based on the video provided by the police, the authorities have not come to any conclusion regarding his involvement in the rape and murder case. 

“We had to release Bista because his DNA did not match with the vaginal swab sample of Panta,” DSP Neupane said. “There is no way to tell if someone is guilty or innocent until concrete evidence is found,” he said.

 
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