DNA of the suspended SP Dilli Raj Bista, his son Kiran and Aayush Bista, nephew of Mayor of Bhimdutta municipality Surendra Bista has not matched with samples collected from body of Nirmala Panta who was raped and murdered.
Tests of the samples collected from the three conducted at the forensic laboratory of Nepal Police have showed that their DNA did not match with the vaginal swab collected from Panta's body. "Samples of not just SP Bista but even his son and cousin of mayor did not match with the vaginal swab," a police source told Setopati.
Nepal Police Spokesperson SSP Shailesh Thapa Chhetri confirmed that reports of the DNA tests of the trio have arrived but expressed ignorance about how the reports turned out. "I have heard that reports have arrived. But we don't know what is there in the reports. The reports have been sent to Kanchanpur in sealed envelopes," he stated.
He revealed that Kanchanpur Police will open the reports.
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.
A CIB team led by DSP Angur GC had reached Kanchanpur four days after the incident. Doubts arose about the police investigation after the CIB team and the then SP at Kanchanpur Bista made 41-year-old Dilip Singh Bista, who was mentally challenged, public as the culprit on the 24th day of the incident on August 18.
The District Government Attorney Office released Bista after DNA samples collected from Nirmala Panta’s body did not match with that of Bista.
The locals have been claiming that Bista was 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 Bista was then suspended for mishandling the case while the CIB sent another team under SSP Thakur Gyawali for investigations.
Samples were then collected for DNA test of the suspended SP Bista, his son Kiran and Aayush Bista, nephew of Mayor of Bhimdutta municipality Surendra Bista to investigate the case. Police personnel involved in preliminary investigation have also undergone lie-detector tests.
Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has since revealed that the clothes worn by Nirmala Panta were burnt and thumbprint of her father was forged in the field report prepared by the police.
