Six of eight erring cops arrested
Kathmandu, March 6
Six of the eight police personnel against whom the Office of District Attorney, Kanchanpur, filed a case at the Kanchanpur District Court today for botching up the investigation into the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta, have been arrested.
Of the eight accused, former superintendent of police Dilli Raj Bista, who was sacked by the government on the charge of misleading and botching up the investigation, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Angur GC, who was suspended on the same charge, were not present at the court. Other police personnel, including Inspector Jagadish Bhatta, who was also sacked, and others who were suspended over the same charge have been kept in the custody of Kanchanpur District Police. The court is set to record the statement of the accused tomorrow and decide whether to release them on bail or general date, or send them to jail until final verdict in the case.
Nirmala’s mother Durga Devi on January 14 had filed an FIR against Bista, GC, DSP Gyan Bahadur Sethi, Bhatta, Inspector Ekendra Khadka, Sub-inspector Ram Singh Dhami, Assistant Sub-Inspector Hari Singh Dhami and Head Constable Chandani Saud on charge of obstructing public justice.
Kanchanpur District Attorney Mohan Prasad Joshi said they had filed a case against eight cops. “Since we filed the case today, it would be better if the two cops who did not show up at the court, presented themselves in the court to record their statements tomorrow.”
Superintendent of Police Dinesh Acharya, who is also the chief of Kanchanpur Police said, “We have notified the persons who stood guarantee for Bista and GC for the duo’s release on general date earlier. We are hopeful that all eight will be present at the court tomorrow.”
According to Advocate Badri Prasad Bhusal, who has been aiding Nirmala’s parents, the FIR lodged by Nirmala’s mother will attract ‘prohibition from creating falsified evidence’ stipulated in the Criminal Code Act.
Section 89 of the penal code has provisioned that anyone found guilty in the case may be liable to a jail term of up to five years along with a fine not exceeding Rs 50,000.
Nirmala was raped and murdered on July 26 last year. Nirmala had disappeared on July 26 after visiting her classmate Aachal Bam, aka Roshani. Nirmala’s mother had called the police that very evening after she didn’t return home, but no immediate action was taken, according to the report of the National Human Rights Commission. Nirmala’s body was found in a sugarcane field at around 9:00 am the next day. The lower half of her body was submerged in water. But, when police arrived at the crime scene, they did very little to protect whatever evidence was left.
A video of the crime scene showed that police personnel had cleaned the bleeding vaginal area and dipped Nirmala’s trousers in water before using it to cover her body.
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