Suspended Superintendent of Police Dilli Raj Bista, then Kanchanpur police chief who has been charged with mishandling the rape and murder of Nirmala Pant, was mired in controversies as he served in several police posts and offices in the past.

He was charged with extramarital affairs and sexual harassment of co-workers. Multiple sources said Bista was accused of sexually assaulting a policewoman while he was the chief of Baitadi district police after the 2006 Janaandolan. Bista, a deputy superintendent of police then, allegedly used his political connections to suppress the incident.

“Though there was no record of the incident [sexual assault], he had been recalled due to protest within the police administration,” said a Baitadi-based journalist, claiming that most of the people in the district headquarters knew about it.

“Everyone in the police administration knows about Bista’s character. He is more like a sex abuser than a police officer,” said a police inspector in Baitadi who worked with Bista.

During his deployment as the Darchula police chief in 2008, people at the district headquarters picketed the District Police Office charging Bista with harassing a policewoman. He was recalled following the incident.

SP Bista was born in Darchula. He migrated to Mahendranagar. He also had an alleged extramarital affair with a policewoman. She divorced her husband as her relationship with the officer was revealed. Bista gained notoriety also for his illicit relationship with other women.

It is learnt that Bista was close to the Nepali Congress when he joined the police force as inspector. Of late, he is close to the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).

Bista was mostly posted to far-western districts due to his political connections. A senior officer requesting anonymity said the headquarters was compelled to post Bista to Kanchanpur after a powerful NCP leader from the Far-west exerted pressure.