Dorjee Khando
Nirmala, a 13-year-old girl, who had just made her step to teenage is now dead. Left her house for a study session but didn’t make it to her home that day. The next day her body was found; the body was bruised, lifeless and half-clothed. The teen was brutally raped and murdered.
On July 26, Thursday, Nirmala had left her house 11 in the morning to have a study session at her friend’s place which was 2 kilometers away from her house. Nirmala wasn’t back home that day; her mother went looking for her daughter. She filed a missing person report at the local police station and stayed there till 2 am the next morning.
The next morning, around 9 am, a body was spotted in the sugarcane field which was reported to be Nirmala’s dead body. Nirmala’s bicycle along with her other belongings were found a feet away from the field. Her body was bruised and lifeless. The body was then taken to Mahakali Zonal Hospital where different tests were taken. On July 29, Sunday, the body was cremated.
After some days, when the post-mortem report was out, it stated that Nirmala was not just raped but strangled. Rally and protests started demanding for an intense investigation into the case. Perpetrators were still free; the police failed the look for them. However, the locals professed that the police were reluctant as the case pointed at two ‘VIPs’.
“A police commander has been suspended after accusations of a cover-up and mishandling in the Nirmala Panta rape and murder case. Protests have spread to the capital Kathmandu.
At least three rapes are reported to the police every day in Nepal. Around 1,500 were reported last year. Activists say many more remain unreported and more than half of all Nepalis attacked are under the age of 16”–Subina Shrestha, Al Jazeera
After the outrage of the protesters, a press conference was organised where the police had arrested 41-year-old Dileep Singh Bista. The locals said that Dileep was mentally handicapped and wasn’t convinced. They asked for the real perpetrators.
“One teenage boy has been killed and dozens were injured in west Nepal when police opened fire on protesters demanding action over the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, according to officials.
According to the Kathmandu Post, Khuna died while being taken to hospital for treatment. The publication said that several other protesters, as well as police personnel, were injured in the clashes ”–Al Jazeera
“The murder case sent shock waves to Singha Durbar as NCP co-chair Prachanda called Prime Minister Oli to take the incident seriously.
Locals demanded that the probe committee investigate the involvement of police officials and the king of NCP leaders of the district. Citizens involved in protest say that firing of live rounds was not called for during the protest. They say that police official appeared petrified as the protest grew in intensity. Protesters also attacked Bhimdutta Nagar Mayor’s house for failing to take action against the culprits.
Local residents believe that the house where Nirmala was headed to before she went missing holds the key in the case. According to neighbours, the Bam sisters (Roshani and Babita) used to live in the house–their parents lived in Darchula. Sources say that two men frequented the house–one of them was then Kanchanpur SP Dilli Raj Bista’s son, and the other one was the nephew of the city’s mayor.
Locals have demanded that the two men, along with the sisters, be interrogated. They have also raised questions about the circumstances in which Nirmala’s notebooks were recovered. It had rained the night she had gone missing, but her notebooks were not wet. Similarly, the Bam sisters told Nirmala’s mother that they had given Nirmala some guavas before she left the place at 2 pm. But the Bam residence does not have a guava tree.
After all pieces of evidence pointed towards the Bam sisters, police later detained them for investigation. However, after protests spread, police provided security for the house and called their parents. According to sources, the Bam sisters’ father is a good friend of SP Dilli Raj Bista.“–OnlineKhabar
On Friday, the police had arrested the two sisters. Police have started interrogation with the Bam sisters, Roshini Bam and Babita Bam. The sisters are held in detention following Kanchanpur District Court’s order to keep them in custody for six days. In the meantime, Dileep Singh Bista, who was accused of the rape was taken to Kathmandu for a health check-up.
