KANCHANPUR, Sept 19: Parents of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant, who was raped and murdered almost two months ago in Kanchapur district, returned home on Tuesday after meeting the prime minister, the home minister and the inspector general of police (IGP), requesting them to deliver justice.

Despite meeting top officials in the capital, Nirmala's mother Durgadevi and father Yagyaraj are not fully assured of getting justice. The investigation into the case has reached nowhere even though it has already been 54 days since the incident.They left for home in the evening after spending a week in Kathmandu pressurizing the government for justice. Back home, their surviving daughters Manisha, 15, and Saraswati, 13, gave a warm welcome to their parents and eagerly asked them about the progress.

The whole country stood by them to pressurize the government for justice for Nirmala. The government has come under strong scrutiny from all corners due to the lack of any concrete progress in the investigation.Back in Kathmandu, Nirmala's parents did their best to seek answers from the higher authorities.

Why did police make attempts to frame innocents instead of focusing on nabbing the real culprits? Why did police destroy the evidences found at the incident site? Why did police issue threats while requesting investigation into Nirmala's rape and murder? Will there even be justice?

These questions have been haunting Nirmala's parents ever since the incident. During their time in the country's capital, they did their best to seek answers from PM KP Sharma Oli, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and IGP Sarbendra Khanal.

Durgadevi and Yagyaraj were compelled to travel to the capital and meet the top officials after they lost the hope of getting justice even after appealing to everyone in Kanchapur. The district court, government officials, politicians and police office proved unhelpful in their crusade to get justice. Therefore, on September 11, they arrived in Kathmandu after an almost 18-hour bus ride.“The top officials have said that we'll get justice for our daughter. They have made us hopeful to some extent, but we are not in a position to completely believe them after all the things we have been through,” the eldest daughter Manisha quoted her parents as saying. Manisha said they cannot live without fear until her sister's murderer(s) are arrested.

Nirmala's parents said they had completely lost hopes of justice when they were knocking various doors only in Kanchapur. “Our hopes have been lifted up slightly after meeting the PM,” said Yagyaraj. According to him, PM Oli assured them by saying that two months is not too late and the culprits would be booked at any cost. “We had lost hopes at the very beginning. But the country's PM has assured us. We really hope that means something.”Clear foul plays from police personnel involved in the initial investigation have largely contributed to the lack of progress in the overall investigation. Police were found to have deliberately destroyed crucial evidences that could have proven vital in nabbing the culprits.                                                

As of now, thousands of people across the country have taken to the streets in support of Nirmala's parents in their crusade for justice. A person was also killed during the process.

 
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