A police committee formed to look into the role of police in the investigation of rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Kanchanpur has submitted a 700-page report to Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal on Monday.

SP Ram Dutta Joshi of Police Headquarters informed that the committee presented its report and the Police Headquarters will take further steps after studying the report.

The Police Headquarters on September 17 had formed the committee under AIG Dhiru Basnyat to find the role of police in handling the investigation of the case after Nirmala went missing. The report has attempted to enquire who was responsible for the mishandling the case.

Nepal Police’s handling of the case came under heavy criticism from various quarters after several instances showed that the police themselves were involved in destroying the evidence with the motive to mislead the case.

Following widespread criticism, IGP Khanal on October 15 had recommended that the ministry sack the then Kanchanpur police chief SP Dilliraj Bista (suspended) and Inspector Jagadish Prasad Bhatta for their dubious roles after which the Home Ministry on October 25 sacked the duo from service with immediate effect for mishandling initial probe into the rape and murder of Nirmala.

Read: Police officers investigating Nirmala Panta rape and murder case have been sacked for mishandling case

SP Bista has also been accused of parading an innocent— 41-year-old mentally ill Dilip Singh Bista—as the major culprit.

The teenage girl from Bhimdutta Municipality-2, Kanchanpur, was found murdered in a sugarcane field on July 27, a day after she went missing. Forensic report has proven that the 13-year-old girl was murdered after rape.

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