KANCHANPUR, July 26: Five 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 rape and murder of Nirmala Panta, the case still remains a mystery even five years after the incident.

KATHMANDU, Jan 6: During the recent course of investigation into the rape and murder of 13-year-old girl Nirmala Panta from Kanchanpur, police have arrested two Indian nationals.

KATHMANDU, Feb 21: Nirmala's mother Durga Devi has been closely watching the rape and murder case of Bhagarathi Bhatta. 'The accused denied attempts to rape, but he later confessed to the crime'. Subsequently, Bhagarathi's brother Shankar Bhatta filed a case against the suspect-- a minor. The investigation is on the right track it seems, she said, while adding that she is, however, hopeless about justice for her daughter Nirmala Panta, who was raped and murdered in 2018, 'as the government has not taken her complaint seriously'.

KATHMANDU, Feb 20: Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has said that the culprits behind the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta will be booked soon.

KATHMANDU, August 17: Social media accounts of notable personalities, especially politicians and government officials, are gradually being flooded with the '#JusticeforNirmala' tag for the last few days. People have flooded the social media accounts of personalities like Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Nepal Communist Party Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal, President of Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba to Prime minister KP Sharma Oli with the tag.

KATHMANDU, Feb 11: Monday was just another day for Nirmala Panta’s mother Durga Devi. She was preparing to come home from work (she is a peon at the Bhimdutta Municipality office) when some media persons came to her and asked if she knew that police headquarters has scrapped the report of the investigations led by AIG Dhiru Basnet into the rape and murder of her daughter.

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KATHMANDU, June 9: Speakers have expressed serious concern over growing cases of violence against women across the country.

KANCHANPUR, March 26: A day after the District Court (DC), Kanchanpur, released sacked Superintendent of Police (SP) Dilli Raj Bista on bail, suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Angur GC surrendered himself before the court on Monday.

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KATHMANDU, March 24: The Kanchanpur District Court has ordered former SP Dilli Raj Bista to pay Rs. 1.5 million in bail amount. Bista is one of the eight police officers who allegedly destroyed evidence of Nirmala Panta’s brutal rape and murder last year.

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KANCHANPUR, March 19: A week after the Kanchanpur District Court issued a warrant against Dilli Bista and Angur GC, Bista, the then Superintendent of Police at District Police Office, Kanchanpur, has presented himself before the court.

KATHMANDU, March 13: The District Court of Kanchanpur has issued a 35 days warrant to the then SP Dilli Bista and DSP of Central Investigation Bureau, Angur GC to be present before the court after the duo ignored the court’s order to record their statement.

A woman is told to come home before dark, and definitely before her husband is home. They are often told to speak softly, and to put family obligations before work at all cost. It has never been easy to break out of those gender norms but women have never stopped trying. Today (March 8) is International Women’s Day and we take this opportunity to celebrate women’s unrelenting spirit. This special issue of The Week brings you some of the most inspiring stories of women around us.

DHANGADHI, March 6: Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa has expressed the determination to find out and bring to book the murderers of 13-year-old girl Nirmala Panta of Kanchanpur.

BHIMDATTANAGAR, Feb 23: The parents of Nirmala Panta of Bhimdattanagar municipality-2, who had been staging a sit-in for long, demanding action against the culprits behind the rape and murder of their daughter, have called off the sit-in.

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DHANGADI, Jan 10: After questions being raised repeatedly on the authenticity of the vaginal swab collected from rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta of Bhimdatta Municipality, police have collected blood sample of her mother Durgadevi Panta for testing.

KATHMANDU, Jan 3: Members of House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, has drawn government's attention on various issues including the Nirmala rape and murder case, normal life affected by cold in Tarai and road construction.

KATHMANDU, Dec 29: As a Tribute to late Sunny Khuna and fundraising  for critically injured Arjun Bhadra and Surendra Deuba during the clash against Nirmala Panta rape and murder case on August 24 in Kanchanpur, the music event entitled ‘Lest We Forget Kanchanpur Diaries’ will be held on Saturday.

KANCHANPUR, Dec 20: Police have intentionally delayed publicizing the DNA test reports of two prime suspects, one of whom has reportedly confessed to the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta because the reports “do not match” with the crime scene evidences.

KANCHANPUR, Dec 19: Durgadevi Panta, mother of the 13-year-old rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta of Bhimdatta Municipality, has filed a complaint against eight police personnel on Tuesday accusing them of destroying evidences.

KATHMANDU, Dec 16: Following the treatment for the last three weeks, the father of rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta, has been discharged from the Maharajgunj-based TU Teaching Hospital.

KAILALI, Dec 12: Police and protestors demanding justice for Kanchanpur rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta clashed in Dhangadhi when the protestors tried to paste Nirmala's posters in front of the chief minister's office on Tuesday.

Justice for Nirmala should not end with arresting the perpetrator(s). It should assure other vulnerable girls an environment to enjoy their childhood without fear

KATHMANDU, Dec 11: Nepal Police chief Sarbendra Khanal has said that he is ready to give up his uniform if any lapses are found on his part during the investigation into the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta of Kanchanpur.

KATHMANDU, Dec 11: Contradicting the claim made on Sunday by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel that police have already identified and arrested the culprits behind Nirmala rape and murder case, Prime Minister KP Oli on Monday said that the police have not yet found the perpetrator(s).

KATHMANDU, Dec 10: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government was effortful to find out the culprits of Nirmala murder case.

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KANCHANPUR, Dec 10: "Sorrow is not necessarily reflected just in shedding tears. My heart aches with pain every second of the day," laments Durgadevi Panta, mother of thirteen-year-old Nirmala of Bhimdatta Municipality who was raped and subsequently murdered four months ago. As it has been a long time since she has been pleading for justice for her daughter, her eyes have dried up.

KANCHANPUR, Dec 9: Police officials have claimed that they are close to solving the case of rape and murder of Nirmala Panta in Kanchanpur following the arrest of two suspects -- Pradeep Rawal and Bishal Chaudhary.

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KATHMANDU, Dec 8: The civil society continued to protest against the government's inability to give justice to Nirmala Panta. Today, the civil society chanted slogans against the government as they demonstrated at New Baneshwor.

KATHMANDU, Dec 8: More than four months after 13-year-old Nirmala Panta of Bhimdutta Municipality, Kanchanpur was found raped and subsequently murdered, Nepal Police has claimed that they are ‘very close’ to solving the notorious case.

Our Prime Minister has been in the news recently for some rather peculiar reasons. It all started off with the ‘larger than life’, allegedly taxpayer funded bout of self-indulgence that was the posters, advertisements and billboard spaces rented for the rollout of the Social Security Scheme. Honestly, all of it might have been quite enough to make Kim Jong-Un jealous! If its intent, as many suspect, was to promote a ‘cult of personality’, then it’s safe to say that it backfired massively.

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Police on Thursday briefly detained 12 protestors who were trying to stage a demonstration in front of the official residence of President Bidya Bhandari in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, demanding justice for the rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta. All the protestors were released later in the afternoon.

KATHMANDU, Dec 6: CIB has resumed recording of an 18-year-old for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of Nirmal Panta, DIG and chief of Central Investigation Bureau, Niraj Shah said. The accused's DNA report is yet to come. The 18-year old's DNA was sent for inspection on Monday.

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KATHMANDU, Dec 3: A group of youth has started pasting what they call ‘Nirmala stickers’ on their bags, jackets, bikes and cars in a bid to press for their demand for justice to rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta.

DHANGADHI, Dec 3: Crusader for medical sector reforms Dr. Govinda KC has demanded that criminal lawsuit be brought against those involved in destroying evidences from the site where rape and murder victim Nirmala Panta’s body was found. He said such action would help track down the real culprit(s) involved in the rape and murder.

KATHMANDU, Dec 2: Hundreds of people staged a demonstration at Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu on Saturday, demanding justice for Nirmala Panta, the schoolgirl who was raped and subsequently murdered four months ago in Kanchanpur.

The week in pictures November 25 - December 1.

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KATHMANDU, Nov 30: Visiting UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, Dubravka Simonovic, said the rape and murder of 13-year old Nirmala Panta is a test case for the Nepal government.

KANCHANPUR, Nov 29: Fifteen-year-old Manisha Panta was found lost in her thoughts while sitting on a plastic chair in front of her tin-roofed house on Wednesday.

KATHMANDU, Nov 28: In the four months since Nirmala Panta, the 13-year-old schoolgirl in Kanchanpur district, was raped and subsequently murdered, the issue of rape and other gender-based violence has remained the most talked-about issue. Civil society groups, informal social media groupings and several other networks launched awareness and pressure campaigns aimed at sensitizing the public about violence against women and girls.

KATHMANDU, Nov 28: Doctors at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital are assessing the health condition of Yagya Raj Panta, father of Nirmala Panta, a 13-year girl who was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur in July.

KATHMANDU, Nov 27: Naya Shakti Party Nepal coordinator and former prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai visited Yagya Raj Panta, the father of rape victim Nirmala Panta who was found murdered in Kanchanpur, and inquired about his health at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital on Monday.