Why did police ‘destroy’ evidence?

Published On: September 17, 2018 07:39 AM NPT By: DIL BAHADUR CHHATYAL

Photo: Republica

KANCHANPUR, Sept 17: Monday marks the 53rd day of the rape and murder of Kanchanpur teenager Nirmala Panta. Yet, there has been no breakthrough in the investigation into the case and police are nowhere close to nabbing the culprit(s).

A major reason behind the lack of progress in the investigation into the case is the possible destruction of evidence from the crime scene. Police allegedly made clever and conscious efforts to destroy evidences after finding Nirmala’s body.

They did not collect finger prints from her books and notebooks from the site. They also did not take foot prints from visible footsteps on the ground. Likewise, police did not cordon off the incident site.

Police have also been accused of turning over the dead body, washing it with water, as well as washing Nirmala’s suruwal with water in order to destroy important evidence. It is also well known that they pressurized innocents, including mentally unstable persons, to own up to the crime they did not commit.

Why did they try hard to frame innocents? Why did they make attempts to cover up their weakness? And why did they ‘destroy’ the evidence in the first place?

“They made conscious efforts to destroy evidences and protect the real culprit(s),” said women rights activist Helen Shrestha. “This drama took place because the then police chief of the district knew about Nirmala’s murderer and wanted to protect the culprit. The investigation was flawed from the very beginning.”

Analysts said police are still unable to take the investigation to the right direction. They suspect that all the evidences suggest that police were directly involved in the rape and murder.

“The government should investigate the then Superintendent of Police and Deputy Superintendent of Police in order to uncover the truth about the incident,” said Dr Mukunda Kalauni, principal of the Far-western University. “However, high ranking officials of the government and political leaders do not show any urgency to arrest the culprits.”