Nepal Police collected blood samples of the suspended Superintendent of Police Dilli Raj Bista, his son Kiran Bista, and Aayush Bista, the nephew of Bhimdutta Municipality mayor Surendra Bista, on Thursday in connection to the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta.

According to Nepal Police Spokesperson SSP Sailesh Thapa Kshetri, the blood sample of SP Bista was taken in Kathmandu whereas samples of Aayush and Kiran were collected in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur.

“Blood samples of Aayush and Kiran will be brought to Kathmandu for DNA test,” Kshetri said. Dr. Harihar Wasti of the Forensic Department at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) said the blood samples were collected and later submitted to the police.

Dilli Raj Bista has been accused of negligence during the investigation of rape and subsequent murder of 13-year-old  Panta in Kanchanpur on July 26. He was recalled and later suspended after growing controversy around the investigation.

The blood samples of the suspended police officer, his son, and the nephew of the mayor have been collected two days after DNA analysis of the main suspect 41-year-old Dilip Singh Bista tested negative.

Dilip Singh Bista was arrested on August 19 and presented before the media the following day as the main suspect behind Nirmala’s death. He was released after 24 days in custody, following the DNA mismatch.

In an interview with the Post, Bista, the police superintendent, repeatedly said he had no connections with Roshni Bam and Babita Bam, two sisters who were also arrested for alleged complicity in the rape and murder of Nirmala.

“There has been rumour of my contact with Bam sisters which is completely false,” Bista said. “I have never heard about them before let alone meeting them in person. I only came across them when they were brought to the District Police Office for inquiry.”

Bista said he is ready to cooperate in the investigation.

Earlier on Thursday, Nirmala’s parents pleaded the government to find the culprit involved in rape and subsequent murder of their daughter as soon as possible.

Nirmala’s father, Yagya Raj Panta, and mother, Durga Devi Panta, arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday along with some human rights activists to campaign for justice for their daughter. “Either the state should shoot me as well or give justice to my daughter,” Durga Devi said during a press conference.

Nirmala’s parents and activists have criticised the government for the delay in nabbing the culprits and failing to take action against the investigating officers, who have been accused of tampering with evidence at the crime scene.

“They have fired bullets at us. Now, they are accusing us of conspiring something similar to Tikapur incident whereas we only demand justice for our daughter,” said Yagya Raj, the father. “What has happened with my daughter shouldn’t happen to anyone’s daughter now.”

Nepal Police has also formed a five-member probe team under SSP Uttam Subedi to investigate the Central Investigation Bureau team, led by DSP Angur GC, which was dispatched to investigate the case, four days after the incident.