Kathmandu, March 13 Kanchanpur District Court has issued warrants against sacked superintendent of police Dilli Raj Bista and suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Angur GC to arrest them within 21 days and present them before the court. Both have refused to record their statements regarding Nirmala Panta rape and murder case. On March 7, the Office of District Attorney had moved the court against eight police officials, charging them with tampering with evidence, illegal detention and torture while investigating the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta, who was killed on July 26. The chargesheet is based on two FIRs. The first one was lodged by Nirmala’s mother Durga Devi on January 14, accusing eight police personnel of botching up the probe and obstructing public justice. The second FIR was also filed on January 14 by Khadga Singh Bista against four police personnel for illegally detaining his younger brother Dilip Singh and torturing him to confess that he raped and killed Nirmala. Of the eight accused, sacked SP Bista and suspended DSP GC were not present in the court to record their statement. Kanchanpur District Court, after recording statements of the six accused, issued a notice against Bista and GC to be present in the court. The six cops are in police custody at the District Police Office in Kanchanpur since March 7. Durga Devi had named sacked SP Bista, suspended DSP GC, DSP Gyan Bahadur Sethi, sacked inspector Jagadish Bhatta, Inspector Ekendra Khadka, Sub-inspector Ram Singh Dhami, Assistant Sub-inspector Hari  Singh Dhami and Head Constable Chandani Saud in the FIR, accusing them of botching up the probe and obstructing public justice. Khadga Singh had filed an FIR against sacked SP Bista, suspended DSP Angur GC, DSP Sethi and Inspector Khadka, accusing them of torturing an innocent person in police custody. District Attorney of Kanchanpur Mohan Prasad Joshi said the court was likely to decide the fate of the six accused police personnel tomorrow. It will decide whether to release them on bail or general date or send them to judicial custody till the announcement of final verdict. Nirmala’s parents had accused police personnel of botching up the investigation from the very first day. Nirmala had disappeared on July 26 after visiting her classmate Aachal Bam, aka Roshani. Nirmala’s mother called the police that very evening after she didn’t return home, but no immediate action was taken, according to a report of the National Human Rights Commission. Nirmala’s body was found at around 9:00 am the next day in a sugarcane field, with the lower half of her body submerged in water. When police arrived at the scene, they did little to protect whatever evidence was left. A video shows that police personnel had cleaned the bleeding vaginal area and dipped Nirmala’s trousers in water before using it to cover her body.