Kathmandu, September 16

Parents of Nirmala Panta are set to meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli tomorrow to seek justice for their daughter, who was raped and murdered in July.

Nirmala’s father Yagya Raj and mother Durga Devi, who had been trying to seek an appointment with the PM for the last four days, eventually got one today thanks to the facilitation of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Niru Pal.

Nirmala’s parents have been in the capital since September 12.

According to supporters of Nirmala, the PM’s office had earlier ‘turned a deaf ear’ to the requests seeking an appointment with Oli.

Collective Campaign for Peace (CoCAP) Chair Badri Prasad Bhusal, said, “I myself called the concerned authorities numerous times, but never got any confirmation from them.”

Activist Sharada Chanda said, “We got a call from lawmaker Niru Pal confirming an appointment with the PM.” Nirmala’s parents are also hoping to meet President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

Five-point demand

Nirmala Panta’s parents will submit a five-point memorandum to Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli when they meet him on Monday. Their five demands are:

• Ensure that those who raped and murdered Nirmala are arrested and punished
• Provide security to witnesses and Nirmala’s family
• Provide livelihood support to the family of 14-year-old Sunny Khuna, who was killed by security personnel while protesting in Kanchanpur. They will also seek assistance for those injured during protests
• Punish security personnel who ordered the use of excessive force and who fired shots during the Kanchanpur protests
• Form an all-powerful and autonomous judicial committee to investigate rape and murder of Nirmala, as well

  as the suspicious police investigation