An under secretary, part of the committee formed to investigate rape and murder of teenager Nirmala Panta of Kanchanpur, has resigned and appealed for safety of his life citing threats from 'powerful' criminals.
Under Secretary at the Internal Affairs Ministry of Province 7 Birendra KC has resigned on Monday and appealed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other bodies for safety of his life stating that he may be murdered by 'powerful' criminals due to the investigations he did on the case.
"I argued that the time to keep the accused in custody will expire and the DNA tests will also be complicated by extension of the committee's deadline, but the deadline was still extended," KC told Setopati. "I left the committee after my repeated requests to not extend the deadline as that may invite accident and the guilty may escape were not heeded."
He stated that he left the committee as he felt it was impossible from his side to provide justice to Nirmala and her family through the probe committee. He added that he has resigned from the committee after feeling that preparing the report will result in a bigger security threat.
The central government had extended the probe committee's deadline by 15 days on Sunday.
The government on August 23 had formed the five-member probe committee under Director General of the Department of Prison Management Hari Mainali.
The body of 13-year-old Panta of Bhimdutta municipality 2, who had gone to a friend’s home for study on July 26, was found at a sugarcane field the next day.
The police on August 18 arrested Dilip Singh Bista, 41, of Bhimdutta-19 and produced him before the Kanchanpur District Court as the main accused. But the locals have been claiming that Bista has been framed by the police to save the real culprits.
Nirmala's father Ek Raj has claimed that the police put pressure on him to file a complaint identifying Bista as the main accused.
One boy was killed in police firing and dozens injured in clashes with police as the locals protested for days accusing the police of trying to save the real culprits.
The then SP of Kanchanpur Dilli Raj Bista was then suspended for mishandling the case.
Nirmala’s friend Roshani Bam, whose house she had visited before she was raped and murdered, and her elder sister Anita Bam were arrested on August 25 following the intense public pressure.
