Kathmandu, July 23

Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa today said the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta was not the first incident of its kind in the country.

Responding to the queries raised by mediapersons during a press meet organised at his office in Singha Durbar to make public the one-year report card of the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said, “What happened to Nirmala is nothing new. Such incidents occurred in the past, are taking place at present and may continue in future too, and cannot be prevented completely.” Nirmala, a 13-year-old girl, was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur on July 26.

Nearly one year after the heinous crime that drew national and international attention, the government has yet to bring to book the perpetrator(s).

On why the government failed to identify and arrest the guilty, Minister Thapa claimed that mixing politics with the issue had added to the complexities of criminal investigation. “Some tried to link the Nirmala rape and murder to the MoHA for shielding the perpetrator(s), which is very sad. Investigation is still on and the government is committed to punishing the guilty, no matter how long it takes,” Thapa said.

He also urged all to cooperate with the government to lead the investigation to a pragmatic end.

“Nepal Police has been successful in solving more than 95 per cent of criminal cases and is being criticised merely for its failure to arrest perpetrator(s) in five per cent of the reported crimes,” he said. He added that the government would bring to book the guilty of all outstanding cases.

Home Secretary Prem Kumar Rai said blunders and negligence on the part of Kanchanpur police at the outset of criminal investigation had made it difficult to identify and arrest the culprit(s).

Nepali Congress has taken serious exception to the home minister’s remarks on the Nirmala murder and rape.

Taking to THT, NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma termed it an ‘irresponsible statement’.