Pradip Rawal, the second suspect in the rape and murder of Nirmala Pant, was released on Wednesday after forensic test found that his DNA sample did not match with the victim’s vaginal swab.

The District Administration Office, Kathmandu, released Rawal on a conditional remand, where he will have to present himself before police when called upon.

Following his release, Rawal told the media that he was tortured in custody of the Nepal Police Central Investigation Bureau.

Rawal said the officers who interrogated him lashed his sole with a PVC pipe to make him confess to the crime.  

Earlier, police had released Bishal Chaudhary, another suspect in the Nirmala murder case. Chaudhary, too, has accused police of torturing him in custody.  

At a time when Nepal Police have been claiming that both Chaudhary and Rawal have confessed to their involvement in Nirmala’s murder, both suspects have said that they confessed because they were tortured in custody. Thirteen-year-old Nirmala was found murdered after rape in Bhimdattanagar, Kanchanpur, on July 27, a day after she was reported missing.