Investigation of Nirmala Panta murder case, DIG Singh reaches Kanchanpur

KATHMANDU, Jan. 4: The committee formed to investigate the incident of rape and murder of Nirmala Pant has started its work. On December 30, under the instructions of the Home Minister, the Police Headquarters formed an investigation committee under the leadership of DIG Durga Singh of the Central Bureau of Investigation. Singh, the coordinator of the committee, has reached Kanchanpur and started the work. SP Kamal Thapa working in CIB, psychiatrist Dr. Rajesh Dutt and Inspector Hirendra Rokaya are the members of the committee formed. Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane made the first decision to conduct a judicial inquiry into Nirmala Panta's murder after assuming office.
Singh, who was on leave when the committee was formed, has cut short her leave and reached Kanchanpur. On July 26, 2018, Nirmala, a resident of Ultakham, Bhimdatta Municipality, Kanchanpur, was murdered. Bista, arrested for the rape and murder of 13-year-old Panta, was released after his DNA was not found. 25 days after the murder of Nirmala, the police caught Dilipsingh Bista and made it public. On September 11, 2018, the district court ordered Bista to be released saying that there was no basis to confirm the involvement and there was no DNA match. Singh, who was appointed as the coordinator of the investigation committee, investigated the incident even then.
Committee after committee 
Initially, the police headquarters had sent a team led by DSP Angur GC of the Central Bureau of Investigation to Kanchanpur to investigate Nirmala's murder. Dilip Singh Bista was arrested by the investigation team led by Angur Ji on 20th August 2018. On the recommendation of another police committee, the police officers including Angur GC were prosecuted for torturing Dilip. The then Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Dhiru Basnyat led a long investigation and submitted a report on 18th December 2018. Based on the committee's report, the police officers, including DSP Angur GC, who were involved in the initial investigation, were found to have made a mistake and they were suggested further arrests.
Then two more committees were formed. The Ministry of Home Affairs formed a committee headed by DNA expert Jeevan Rijal. The Police Headquarters formed a separate review committee under the leadership of then DIG Suraj KC. The committee led by Jeevan Rijal concluded that there was no cement in Nirmala's vaginal swab and submitted a report that the killer could not be detected through DNA testing.
The review committee led by the then Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Suraj KC concluded that the report of the Dhiru Basnyat Committee was wrong. When Sarbendra Khanal was the Inspector General of Police, the police tried to arrest Dilipsingh Bista by deciding not to implement the report given by the committee led by Dhiru Basnyat. The victim's family filed a complaint against Dilipsingh Bista, at the time. In addition to the complaint filed, the police had already prepared a video of Dilip 'confessing to the crime' as additional evidence. However, the public prosecutor has been maintaining a position that a case cannot be registered based on only that evidence.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has assigned a team there to investigate Nirmala's murder. While working in the Central Bureau of Investigation, the current SSP Ganesh Chand also conducted a long investigation in Kanchanpur.