By Nayak Paudel
Kathmandu, Aug. 20: As netizens have flooded social media demanding justice for 13-year-old Nirmala Pant, who was raped and murdered in July 2018, with the hashtag #JusticeForNirmalaPanta, Nepal Police have said that they are investigating into the case seriously.
In the last couple of days, a movement has begun in Facebook where netizens are commenting #JusticeForNirmalaPant in the posts of high level government officials, law enforcement agencies, international organisations and top politicians.
The comments with the hashtag have surpassed 575,000 in the profile picture of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on his Facebook page until Tuesday afternoon. Netizens plan to surpass one million comments in Oli’s profile picture alone.
The netizens have also commented #JusticeForNirmalaPant on the pictures posted by the Facebook page of Nepal Police, chairman of Nepal Communist Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, UN Women, United Nations Human Rights and president of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba, among others.
Backing up the step, netizens have shared that the movement was to make the concerned authorities aware regarding the delay in providing justice to Nirmala even more than two years after the incident. Similarly, the comments on the page of international organisation is said to be a part of making global community aware of the delay for a 13-year-old victim to receive justice.
Around a dozen different investigation committees have been formed by Nepal Police and the government to probe into the incident, but the authorities have been unable to arrest the perpetrator/s.
“Since the incident, the investigation has been continuing by testing DNA, through phones active around the area during the incident, searching and detaining individuals suspected of the crime and interrogating many individuals. The investigation is still going on by focusing on different other aspects as well,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kuber Kadayat, central police spokesperson.
The recent report by a team formed by Nepal Police under the leadership of Deputy Inspector General of Police Suraj KC to probe and analyse the former reports and investigations into the case and suggest a way forward had recommended the authority to focus on circumstantial evidence over DNA.
Even when DNA is major evidence, a committee by National Human Rights Commission, including forensic experts, had earlier found serious lapses in collection of the sample from the victim and defects in the scientific method applied during DNA test.
As the investigation is claimed to be ongoing, senior officers in Nepal Police say that they are in search of concrete evidence.
“As the DNA does not seem a way forward in the case, we need concrete evidence against the accused to prove the crime. A lack of evidence can help the criminal walk scot free,” said Kadayat.
As per Kadayat, some cases take time in finding something concrete or essential related to the case.
“We are serious about the case. The perpetrators will be arrested sooner or later with a concrete evidence to back their involvement,” Kadayat added.