• I prayed that the culprit(s) be found soon

Dhangadi, December 12

Agitators performed a havan ceremony at the sit-in site in memory of rape and murder victim 13-year-old Nirmala Panta on the occasion of her birthday in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, today.

At the initiative of Civil Struggle Committee Kanchanpur, Nirmala’s family members and rights activists performed the havan in front of Kanchanpur District Administration Office wishing peace for the departed soul.

Priest Keshav Prasad Upadhyay had offered prayers for the deceased in as per religious tradition.

Nirmala’s mother Durga Devi Panta, rights activists and Civil Struggle Committee members performed puja. Durga Devi said they had performed the havan to press the government to book those guilty of the rape and murder of her daughter. “I prayed that the culprits be found soon,” Durga Devi said.

Rights activist Sharada Chand said they had held the havan and prayed that the government be able to book the guilty soon.  She demanded that the guilty be booked as early as possible.

Nirmala was raped and subsequently murdered on July 26. Panta’s body was found in a sugarcane field the next morning. Despite investigation by various probe teams, the guilty, however, have not yet been booked.