The Home Ministry on Saturday suspended five police officers over the botched investigation into the rape and murder of Nirmala Pant.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said Deputy Superintendents Gyan Bahadur Sethi and Angur GC, Inspectors Ekendra Khadka and Jagadish Bhatta and Assistant Sub-inspector Ram Singh Dhami had been suspended for investigation after the five-member probe committee led by Joint-secretary Hari Prasad Mainali submitted its preliminary report to Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa.