Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
E139: Nirmala Panta
4.3k Plays3 years ago
Nirmala Panta was just a young girl walking to a friend’s home one Thursday morning in late July 2018. Then her rape and murder became national headlines. No longer just a 13-year-old from Kanchanpur, Nepal; her face soon represented the growing epidemic of violence against young girls across the country. But Nirmala’s family, like the families of so many of those girls whom she came to represent, is still waiting for justice.
Want to create your own podcast but don’t know where to start? Give Zencastr a try. Recording is as easy as clicking “New” and sharing a link with co-hosts or guests. Plus, you’ll get crisp, clear audio every single time! Simply go to http://zen.ai/coffeeandcasespod0 and enter promo code coffeeandcasespod0 for 30% off your first three months. It’s the only platform Maggie and so trust for recording remotely and we know you’ll love it as much as we do.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
We are excited to announce that this episode is being sponsored by Zencaster, our very own podcast recording platform. Make sure you listen for more information in the middle of the episode and in the show notes to hear exactly why we love Zencaster so much and how you yourself can get a discount.
Global Violence vs. Justice: A Social Media Perspective
00:00:20
Speaker
Ask almost anyone whether they believe the world is growing kinder or more evil with each passing year.
00:00:28
Speaker
and you'll likely get the same answer. It often feels that the harder we try to fight for the dignity of each individual in our global society, the more violence and hatred we find when we turn on the nightly news. And these feelings aren't just true in the United States, but across the globe. Luckily, the same way hatred can seem to spread globally, so can a fight for justice and hope.
00:00:58
Speaker
a fight to be seen, a fight to be heard.
Impact of Podcasting on Awareness and Social Movements
00:01:02
Speaker
And by sharing the cases we cover here on the Coffee and Cases podcast, you are doing your part in letting families know that no matter whether the victim is a child or someone battling a debilitating addiction, their families deserve justice. By sharing, either by word of mouth or sharing on social media a post about a case,
00:01:25
Speaker
you are showing that family that their cries for justice are not falling on deaf ears. Most of the stories we cover here on the podcast are based in North America, since Maggie and I are in Kentucky in the US, and the majority of our listenership is here. Thus, each share might reach someone who knows answers and pressure them to come forward.
00:01:49
Speaker
However, as we saw in our coverage of the deaths of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore, and the accusations laid against the West Memphis Three, social media and the statements we make on there can spark a movement. So when a listener reached out to us about this case, we knew that it was one that needed coverage. Thank you, Monica, for suggesting it.
Focus on Nepal: Beauty and Challenges
00:02:14
Speaker
We are, this week,
00:02:16
Speaker
in Nepal, a landlocked country on the northeastern border of India. Nepal is home to more than 30 million people and to eight of the 10 tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest.
Rising Sexual Violence in Nepal: Statistics and Impact
00:02:32
Speaker
But despite all of the natural beauty and the kind people who can be found in Nepal, there is also a growing evil or at least a present evil.
00:02:44
Speaker
for which we are growing more aware with each passing year. Sexual violence against women, particularly minors. According to an article in the Annapurna Express from July 13th, 2020, the number of cases of rape were quote, 981 in the 2014 to 15 fiscal year, which climbed to 1,093
00:03:12
Speaker
then 1137, then 1480, and over 1500 cases in fiscal's 2015 to 16, 2016 to 17, 2017 to 18, and 2018 to 19 respectively. All before reaching 1945 cases in fiscal year 2019 to 20.
00:03:42
Speaker
Why miners?
00:03:44
Speaker
According to that same article, a Nepal police spokesperson stated, quote, the perpetrators come from uneducated and low income backgrounds in most rape cases. They choose minors as victims because they find it easier to take them under control and use force. Psychologist Karuna Kunwar says most perpetrators are those with psychosexual disorders, quote, often the perpetrators are close relatives.
Victim Silencing: Societal and Media Influences
00:04:14
Speaker
They may choose minors thinking they could silence them with simple threats and they don't need to use much force." The most recent data I could find concerning the age of the victims showed that the victims primarily from the 2016-17 data were around 44% between the ages of 11 and 16 and around 21% of the victims
00:04:43
Speaker
were age 10 or younger. Those were the two largest victim groups of sexual violence in Nepal. Additionally, because of the commonality of a relative acquaintance or prominent person committing the crime, women, particularly young girls, are more hesitant to come forward about the crime because of the associated stigma,
00:05:09
Speaker
because of fear of causing a rift or trouble for the family, or because traditionally, when people, including the media, speak of the sexual violence, there tends to be a lot of victim shaming.
00:05:24
Speaker
As stated in the article Republic of Rape, published on August 23rd, 2018 in the Nepali Times, quote, survivors of rape already traumatized are often forced by family members to keep quiet because they bring shame. If they do go to the police, the line of questioning by male officers is insulting, as if the victims were somehow responsible for the crime.
00:05:53
Speaker
Police often try to get the perpetrator and the victim's family to come to a compensation agreement. There have been cases where the survivor is forced by the family to marry the rapist, either because of stigmatization or because the girl is from a lower caste and the criminal, a rich and powerful local.
The Case of Nirmala Panta: A Quest for Justice
00:06:16
Speaker
The most under-reported are cases of incest."
00:06:22
Speaker
Our case this week covers the tragic rape and murder of a young 13-year-old girl from Kanchanpur, Nepal, one of the many victims of this horrific crime trend, a case that allows us to put a face to the problem, a case that, like all of the others, calls for a social movement.
Engagement and Community Building
00:06:46
Speaker
This is the case of Nirmala Panta.
00:07:25
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold.
00:07:30
Speaker
My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement.
00:07:42
Speaker
So justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive.
Fan Interaction and Patreon Content
00:07:58
Speaker
So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week. Sluice hounds, I love you so much it hurts. And that is why we do our favorite time of the week,
00:08:11
Speaker
shout outs, which I have Maggie new news to you. But I have decided that we need to call these love notes for Maggie and Alison. Oh, I love it. We need like the little chime. Yeah, like that. Like
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah, so somebody who's musically inclined, which we're not, give us some chime music that we could play when we say love notes from Maggie. Oh, your phone dinged. Not like that one. Which was my phone dinged. Your phone said, I've got you. Yeah, also while we're talking about this,
00:08:58
Speaker
I have a new MacBook. How do I make it quit dinging when I get text messages? Please someone tell me this. Thank you. Okay, so I'll start this week's love notes and we have one for Stephanie.
00:09:20
Speaker
who recommended us on Facebook saying goodness gracious my favorite podcast by my favorite people if we talked together I know y'all would be my BFFs and we would Stephanie we would be your best friends yes that is super sweet and I'd also like to give a shout out love notes to Janine
00:09:42
Speaker
Jana, Gay, and Brandi for reaching out on Facebook to send us some messages. We appreciate those too. Yes, we do. Love and thanks also to Mary Jo, who gave us a shout out on Instagram when asked for the True Crime podcast that got her hooked.
00:10:00
Speaker
love notes to Autumn, Sarah and Amanda for sending us messages on Instagram and to True Crime Cat lawyers for mentioning us in their story on Insta. And speaking of the True Crime Cat lawyer, which I will get out eventually, they also were super sweet and gave us a five star written review from their host.
00:10:30
Speaker
Elise and her cat because, you know, I love cats and his name is Winston, which I think is the cutest cat name.
00:10:40
Speaker
The review says, quote, stumbled across this podcast on Good Pause, and I'm so glad I did. These ladies are relatable, and I enjoy listening to them. I also appreciate that they highlight lesser known cases that need more coverage. Give it a listen. Well, thank you. I know. What's that? Alise and Winston. And if you all are caught up on Coffee and Cases, and you're looking for a new podcast to try,
00:11:05
Speaker
You could return the love and check out true crime cat lawyer. Yeah. If you like what you hear, leave her review as well and tell her that you heard about the pod from coffee and cases. And you know, another place you can check if you're just craving more coffee and cases.
00:11:23
Speaker
You could check out our Patreon page. We just updated it last week with a new full-length episode from A Solved Case. And I will be posting another full-length episode probably tomorrow.
00:11:40
Speaker
as in not tomorrow when you're listening this but yeah so you're getting ready to have another one coming up
00:11:57
Speaker
And if you haven't checked it out, we really would love you to join and support the show for us. You can do that for as low as five dollars a month. And that will get you all of the full length episodes we have done and the not too many episodes that are currently posted for you to enjoy. Yes. And do not forget.
00:12:20
Speaker
that on our next episode, we will select- Oh, I had forgotten. Yeah. Seven lucky Patreon members. So seven winners on 7-7 to receive a card from us and a coffee and cases key chain. So if you have not yet signed up for Patreon, you have one more week to do so before the drawing.
00:12:45
Speaker
Yep. I know. Plus our exclusive keychain. Right. Our Patreon will give you some extra content for the one week in July when Maggie and I will be finally this will be the first time ever since we started the pod going on vacation.
00:13:06
Speaker
And you know some podcasters, most of them actually take off a whole month or more during the summer for a break or between seasons. And this will be the first time that Maggie and I are taking off, but we are only taking off one week but listen. We both need a little R&R. Yeah.
00:13:26
Speaker
We're tired.
Nirmala Panta's Disappearance: Initial Reactions
00:13:28
Speaker
So, Sleuth Hounds, we will be taking off on Thursday, July 21st. So again, if you need something to fill your time and you haven't yet joined Patreon, you know where to go.
00:13:43
Speaker
Or you could, if you don't want to know more about me and Allison or about some solved cases who wouldn't, you could just re-listen to your favorite Coffee and Cases episode. And then you could remind us which one that is by leaving us a five-star review.
00:14:02
Speaker
In fact, I kind of had a fun game in mind and that was that you could listen to one of the past cases and find something like
00:14:16
Speaker
ridiculously funny that Maggie said in it like that otherwise taken out of context would be super funny and I have already started um I will give a I'll send a sticker to any sleuthound out there who knows what episode this is in and can tell me but here is a comment oh god so embarrassing one of our um past episodes she said
00:14:45
Speaker
And I quote, did you take a steamy shower, Bobby? End quote. Did you take a steamy shower, Bobby? So taken out of context, that sounds really bad. But it made sense in the episode. So sticker to whoever can find it. That's a fun game.
00:15:09
Speaker
It is. I like it. I like it. Okay. So with our love notes out of the way for our CNC fam, let's get into this week's episode and I will definitely apologize for mispronunciations because I will likely say something in a completely wrong accented syllable.
00:15:36
Speaker
vowel sound. I will likely mess it up, but I am trying. And she did try. She googled all of them. I was on the other end when she was doing it. So yes, though I will likely have already forgotten.
00:15:51
Speaker
Thursday morning, July 26th, 2018, started the same as it did almost every morning. Durga, Diva, Panta, and her three daughters rose early to begin their days. It was just the women in the home as Durga's husband, the girl's father, had left them close to nine years prior because Durga had only born him female children.
00:16:18
Speaker
Is that a common practice? I'm guessing so. Because I know in a lot of cultures that is because it's the male children who would then go on to take care of the parents in old age, but then female children are married off and they become part of the husband's family.
00:16:43
Speaker
Since then, it was just the women working together to make ends meet. Mother Durga would go during the day across the border into India to Bonbasa to, per an article in the record, act as a quote, carrier of smuggled goods for petty returns from local businessmen, end quote.
00:17:06
Speaker
So yeah, but she had to do it to make ends meet. And meanwhile, her daughters would stay behind in their hometown of Kanchanpur, Nepal, which the research kept mentioning is in ward two. So I'm mentioning it because I don't know if that's information that would be pertinent to the case.
00:17:27
Speaker
Yeah, I'm curious what that means. So somebody knows, let us know. Yes. So they would stay behind in their hometown to run a ponpori stand. And that is like this street snack food. And it consists of, I watched all kinds of videos about how to make it because it looks amazing. And it's like this thin, hollow, deep fried flatbread.
00:17:57
Speaker
It's kind of like a big oyster cracker that is fuller, like more like a ball. But you get the idea. And it's filled with this filling like mashed potatoes, chickpeas, or onions. And then you dip it into this water that's flavored with all these spices. And then you eat it whole before it falls apart. Well, I would try it. I would try it too.
00:18:27
Speaker
Yeah. So that's the stand that the daughters are running. And between mom working out of town and the daughters running the stand, that's how they were able to still make ends meet. So Durga left her home around 8am and she returned around 1pm.
00:18:47
Speaker
When she returned, she found only her youngest daughter, Saraswati, at home. Durga asked where her oldest daughter, Manisha, and her middle daughter, Nirmala, had gone.
00:19:02
Speaker
Saraswati let her know that Manashi was over at a neighbor's home and that Nirmala had walked to Roshani Baum's home around nine tenths of a mile away. So like one and a half kilometers for international listeners. So mom comes home, only the youngest daughter's there. Oldest daughter over at a neighbor's house. Nirmala is at her friend's house a little less than a mile away. Okay.
00:19:31
Speaker
The day before, Nirmala had met her friend Roshani at this store in town where they had snacked on Chhatputa, which is this spicy puffed rice. And Nirmala had lent a notebook to Roshani and she wanted to go get it back. So before Nirmala left home, she told her younger sister that she was going to get her notebook back.
00:19:57
Speaker
and that she was going to give 20 rupee to pay for that food from the day before. Okay. Okay. So she has a reason to be going. And since the neighbor where Manisha had gone was so close and Nirmala and her friend Roshani often visited one another's homes.
00:20:15
Speaker
Durga wasn't nervous about either daughter, right? She wasn't thinking, oh my gosh, where are they? Why aren't they home? Because this was something that they did often. And her oldest daughter, Manisha, soon returned home. But when her middle daughter, 13-year-old Nirmala, hadn't returned by 6 PM, Durga decided to walk herself over to Roshani's home.
00:20:45
Speaker
to say like, okay, where's my daughter? And you know, this is, I guess, fascinating to me. And I guess also shows just, I guess, how sheltered I am. But just learning about other people's cultures like this, because obviously, neither one of us are super familiar with this culture and the kind of the way that it functions is very interesting to listen about just to learn about this. And it like makes me have lots of questions. So I'm anxious to see what
00:21:15
Speaker
of my questions will be answered. Right. And I mean, I think it shows that there's not a whole lot that's different. You know what I mean? Like here's a young girl, she rides her bike over to her friend's house because she owes her friend money and she wants to get her notebook back. Right. And her mom's not worried at first because she does it all the time. Exactly. Very similar to the stories we talk about normally. Exactly.
00:21:40
Speaker
Now a little bit of background about the BOM home, because remember that's Nirmala's best friend is Roshani BOM. According to their neighbors, Roshani and her sister Babita, based on information provided in an article from the English version of online Khabar titled, quote, explainer
00:22:02
Speaker
What is the Nirmala Ponta murder case all about?" They lived in this home by themselves after their parents had moved to Darchula. So parents move away, two daughters stay behind. That seems a little unsafe in any culture. Agreed.
00:22:25
Speaker
It was rumored that a couple of local young men frequented the home to visit Babita, either because they were close friends or there were also rumors that she had been engaged to one young man twice, but her parents didn't approve. And so she had like one of them was her boyfriend. But again, this is either way you look at it, it was not considered proper.
00:22:53
Speaker
that she would have these young men coming over. And I can only imagine the concern was growing as Durga made her trek over to the bomb home. That concern grew to anxious anger when she arrived. Durga knocked on the door to ask for her daughter Nirmala. The response was not what she expected in two ways.
00:23:19
Speaker
First, Rashani told Durga that Nirmala had left their home around 2 p.m. earlier that afternoon to walk home with some notebooks and a couple of guava that she had given Nirmala.
00:23:33
Speaker
So she should have definitely been home. Oh, exactly. So that obviously increased Durga's anxiety because more than four hours had passed between when Roshani is saying Nirmala left and when Durga is like, she's not home yet. I need to go look for her. So she should have long since been home because again, it's nine-tenths of a mile away, which might be a long walk, but Nirmala is riding her bike.
00:24:03
Speaker
Next came the anger. When Roshani allegedly blocked the entryway into the home, it wouldn't let Durga come in. Okay, well Durga seems pretty self-sufficient. I mean, she's taking care of herself and two other girls in a country that I'm going to assume is predominantly male-dominated.
Community Search and Police Involvement
00:24:27
Speaker
Well, three daughters.
00:24:28
Speaker
Oh, three daughters, yes, three daughters and herself. So, I would be a little nervous trying to block a doorway from her because she's liable to knock you over. Yeah, especially again, when Mama Bear comes out because, listen, I know what Mama Bear looks like because I've been Mama Bear.
00:24:47
Speaker
And she kind of gets that way. So per an article in the record, Nirmala's mother, Durga, made a statement to police that the following conversation ensued. This is what she says happened. She said, quote, Rishani, tell me where did she go? She's your friend. She might've told you where she's going. Tell me, where did you send her? Why did you invite her without informing me? Durga demanded, end quote.
00:25:16
Speaker
And it's at that point that Roshani's older sister, Babita, who'd been eavesdropping on the conversation, came to the door also. And she said to Durga, quote, Auntie, what are you saying? Is it our job to look after your daughter? Why do you come here and bother us? Do you know how your daughter was? You should see the look on my face. Oh, yeah. Who knows? Your daughter may have just eloped with somebody, end quote.
00:25:46
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. And how old is the daughter at this point? Thirteen. Is that what she said? Yeah. Nirmala is 13. Yeah. So if I'm this mom, the fact that this girl says, is it our job to look after your daughter? Do you know what that reminds me of? What? Cain and the Bible. When Cain killed Abel.
00:26:15
Speaker
And he's like, am I my brother's keeper? I think there's a lot of really weird statements that happen. Also think it's super random that you just hop right to. She might've eloped with somebody. It's weird. Yeah, that is a weird jump. Well, Durga, she knows that her daughter would have done no such thing. So then she began to wonder, and this was in that article, quote,
00:26:41
Speaker
Could it be that these sisters sold my daughter to somebody, end quote? Oh, like Joseph and the Code of Many Colors. Yeah, we're getting all kinds of biblical allusions here. But the fact that she would jump straight to that almost seems to tell me that that also wasn't uncommon. And, you know, going back to your previous comment, is it our job to look after your daughter? Yes, it is.
00:27:10
Speaker
If she's with you, then it's your job. You're her friend. So yes. Yeah, you're her friend. So yes, it is. By the time Durga got home around 8pm and Nirmala still had not returned, she went to her neighbor, Laxman Bhatta's house and he was the local constable to ask that he file a missing persons report at the local police station. And I don't know this for sure, but
00:27:41
Speaker
It almost makes me feel like the fact that she went to her neighbor's house, I get that he has a connection with law enforcement, but he's also male. I'm wondering if that, if she was like, okay, I need to get a male figure to go file this missing persons report. Yeah. But Bata did make the report for her. The problem is that the response from the inspector
00:28:10
Speaker
was not the best of news for DERCA. Much like what we see in the cases we cover from the US when the missing person is 18 and fitting with the information that I gave you earlier about the tendency of Nepali law enforcement to not take crimes or even the potential of a crime against women as seriously as they should.
00:28:36
Speaker
the local law enforcement put Durga off, telling her she shouldn't be worried about her daughter. You know what? It's already late. We'll just start looking for her tomorrow. And that's frustrating from any parent standpoint because this is your child and if it were their child, they wouldn't be saying that.
00:28:58
Speaker
precisely. So they really meant what they said. They decided that they were not going to begin looking for her until the following day on July 27th, 2018.
Crime Scene Management and Protests
00:29:11
Speaker
In the meantime though, Durga walked the path again to the bomb home, this time with the constable at her side, where she was again, and I couldn't obviously verify this with all accuracy, but she was again allegedly denied entry to the bomb home. Even with the constable with her? Mm-hmm.
00:29:38
Speaker
And if that is true, that's pretty suspicious. Yeah. That doesn't look the best. Pretty fishy. Armed with at least five additional individuals from their neighborhood though, Durga and the six others, so Durga the constable and five other people from the neighborhood, searched for Nirmala until around midnight, but they came up empty handed.
00:30:02
Speaker
Additionally, so much time has passed. Oh, I know. Right. Because at last the bomb sister said they saw her was around two. Two. And now it's midnight. Additionally, they called the district police office and law enforcement in Salgari. But no one would come out that night to help them search. Yeah. So they're literally feeling left alone.
00:30:32
Speaker
Around 830 that next morning, Friday morning, before police had even begun their investigation, a 40 something year old Tharu man, which is a nationality. I had to look it up. It's an ethnic group indigenous to Southern Nepal and Northern India, who was on his way to work, ironically, at a police inspector's house, saw a bicycle.
00:31:01
Speaker
One report said the bicycle was in the river and another said it was beside the river. But regardless, this man saw a bicycle next to a sugar cane field. The bike was near Mila's, but she was nowhere to be seen. Less than an hour later, near Mila's body too was found.
00:31:30
Speaker
Deepak Negi, a local man, was in the sugar cane field and stumbled upon the naked body of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta. According to later police reports, she had been raped and strangled to death. Her vocal cords crushed. Oh, wow. Yeah. The police were informed nearly immediately of Nirmala's body being discovered.
00:31:59
Speaker
But it took them another 30 minutes to reach the crime scene by then. It's kind of seem like they're like this. Yeah. Yeah. Like let's just wait it out. You know, maybe something. Yeah. Take our time. By the time they showed up, hundreds of locals had flocked there to see the site. Thus. OK. So the crime scene is contaminated. Yep.
00:32:25
Speaker
and it was not properly cordoned off. So even when the police are there, there are locals just kind of traipsing through the crime scene, nor was the evidence carefully preserved as it should have been. There was even, reputedly, a video of a female constable at the scene. Maggie, you're not going to believe this. Washing clothing in the river.
Sponsorship: Zencaster Benefits
00:32:53
Speaker
that clearly had Nirmala's and potentially the perpetrator's blood on it. No. A video surfaced of this washing of clothes. So this makes me wonder, I wonder how different protocol is.
00:33:14
Speaker
in the United States versus other nations because we've talked about contaminated crime scenes and the public showing up and walking through a scene. But never have we had someone just washing potential evidence away in the river. Well, I will say even those in this town in Nepal were also shocked by that action.
Justice Demands and Government Response
00:33:45
Speaker
Allison and I find it hard to record together these days with everything going on in our lives. That's why we began looking for a recording platform that would allow us to record the same quality crisp audio that we could have in person. Allison made it her mission to find the best platform for doing just that and that's when she discovered Zincaster.
00:34:03
Speaker
Zencaster is what Maggie and I use each week to record our episodes, and it is extremely easy to use, even if you've never used a recording platform before. You don't even have to download a thing. I go to the website zencaster.com, create the session for which you can record audio, video, or both, and then email Maggie the link. She clicks, and that's it. We're ready to hit the record button and start.
00:34:30
Speaker
Even when we have guests who aren't tech savvy, all they have to do is click the link to join the recording. Zencaster is an all in one podcast production suite that gives you studio quality audio and video without needing to have any technological background knowledge. Once you're finished recording, the magic of Zencaster continues as everything you've just created is securely backed up on the cloud. So no more lost files and you get a transcript generated from your recording.
00:34:59
Speaker
So you have quality material to work with and post production. I honestly could not brag about Zencaster enough. If you're thinking about creating your own podcast, but worry because your co-host or someone you'd like to interview is in another city, worry no more. We want you to have the same easy experience as we do. If you go to zen.ai slash coffee and cases, pod zero and enter promo code coffee and cases, pod zero, all one word,
00:35:25
Speaker
You'll get 30% off your first three months. That's zen.ai slash coffee and cases pod zero. It's time to share and easily record your story. So when police attempted to turn Nirmala's body back over to her family, her father specifically,
00:35:48
Speaker
They said, we're going to turn the body over. But again, this is a male-dominated society in terms of perception. So they said, we'll only turn the body over to her father, even though he hadn't been there for the past nine years. He doesn't live with him. Right. Locals urged the family not to accept the body for burial until the perpetrator had been located.
00:36:10
Speaker
after all. Yeah, have they done like a rape kit? Have they done anything? They did get a DNA swab from a rape kit. Okay. You know, the other locals are saying don't bury her yet because what if there's other evidence that's still to be found on her that might lead to answers? Despite those urgings, most sources indicate that Nirmala's father felt coerced.
00:36:37
Speaker
with allegations of local law enforcement even getting Nirmala's uncle, her father's brother, to help them in their persuasion, coerce him that Nirmala should quickly be cremated, which is what he did. Which is very frustrating because, like you said, he's not been there for nine years. So I feel he shouldn't be making any of these decisions. I know this is a cultural thing, probably.
00:37:05
Speaker
That's just really frustrating because there could have been potential evidence on her that's now gone forever. Right. As a result of the seemingly hasty and inexplicable actions by the police, protests began demanding for law enforcement to get their act together and find the perpetrator. Yes. Yes. The people were speaking, Maggie. They had had enough of this rape culture.
00:37:33
Speaker
and wanted the perpetrators brought to justice. It had been eight days since Nirmala's body had been found and no one had been arrested. So, on August 20th, the police did arrest someone. A local- But- Yeah.
00:37:54
Speaker
Obviously this case is not solved or we won't be talking about it. Right. Good catch. The someone who they arrested was a local 41 year old mentally handicapped man.
00:38:10
Speaker
named Dilip Singh Bista. Again, allegedly, law enforcement made Nirmala's father sign a statement that Bista had committed the crime. So then they would have something on record, I guess, saying that the family believes this is the perpetrator. And Bista was said to have admitted to the police that he committed the murder.
00:38:39
Speaker
Okay, well police get people to admit things all the time. Right, we've talked about many of them in the past few episodes. But the other locals would not be convinced that this man had committed a crime like this one. After all, there were the strange details that they had heard that the Baum sisters refused entry to their home
00:39:04
Speaker
Right? This guy had nothing to do with them. Nirmala's body was found 500 yards away from where her bicycle was found and it is believed that Nirmala had been killed elsewhere and her body actually brought to that sugarcane field where it was found.
00:39:26
Speaker
So would it have even been possible for him to do all of these things? Right. I think that's the thinking of the people who were like, no way. And the reason they knew she had been brought there was because it had rained heavily the night before she was discovered. Yet the notebooks that were lying on the ground around her were dry.
00:39:49
Speaker
and obviously paper, it gets wet and it stays wet. So the locals didn't believe that Dilip Singh Bista could have carried out the intricacies of what we know of the crime. But since the police were so persistent that he was the perpetrator,
00:40:09
Speaker
Because of that persistence, that fact led many of those same locals to believe instead, maybe his arrest is an attempt to pin the crime on someone else. So the true perpetrator, someone the law enforcement wanted to protect, could get away unscathed. After all, hadn't police at the crime scene been literally washing away evidence?
00:40:38
Speaker
Yes ma'am. Hadn't it taken them much too much time to arrive to the scene to protect the evidence that might have been there from contamination? Yep, they were lollygagging. Yes. And it turns out the people might be right. At least in the fact that there was no evidence
00:40:59
Speaker
that Bista had committed the crime. The DNA vaginal swab performed during the autopsy on Nirmala did not match Bista's DNA. Oh, I completely forgot about that. Yeah. He was released on September 12th. Look good.
00:41:17
Speaker
Yes. Later, his older brother filed a complaint against the local police, accusing them of torturing his brother in order to elicit a false confession. I know. And those accusations were pointed toward eight officers. Nearly immediately, more mass protests erupted.
00:41:42
Speaker
not just in Kanchanpur, their hometown, but also across the country. Soon, those protests themselves turned deadly. On August 23rd, police opened fire on protesters, injuring at least 10 people
00:42:05
Speaker
Were they violent protests or were they relatively peaceful? Not from what I read. I mean, they might've been loud, but I didn't read that they were trying to injure law enforcement, that they had to use force. And by the following Friday, protests erupted yet again. And yet again, police fired into the crowd, reportedly over 30 live rounds. This time,
00:42:33
Speaker
Six protesters were injured, and a young boy, 14-year-old Suni Kuna, was killed. His death only fueled the fire. Prime Minister Oli was called to take the incident seriously.
00:42:54
Speaker
because of those unconscionable police actions just mentioned. And the fact that while the police had responded to the crime scene that day, an official investigation, Maggie, wasn't launched until four days after Nirmala's body was discovered. Kanchanpur, a superintendent of police. So what were they doing? Yeah, well, that's the big question.
00:43:21
Speaker
I don't know, twiddling their thumbs, playing thumb war. I mean, I don't know. But the consular superintendent of police, Dilly Raj Bista, and the officials who worked under him had heavy charges made against them. Those charges were thwarting the investigation either by accident or on purpose.
00:43:46
Speaker
So either it's gross negligence or purposeful destruction of evidence. So in the meantime, those officers who were originally part of the investigation were taken off of the investigation and replaced with new officers, even though protests continued across the country. Other potential suspects were arrested, questioned, and swabbed where fitting, because if they're male, right?
00:44:16
Speaker
for DNA. On August 23rd, 2018, the Baum sisters were arrested, as many of the protesters would. Oh! Because, I mean, remember, they're actually the last ones who see her alive. See her? Yeah. Yeah. However, they were soon released when there wasn't enough evidence to hold them.
00:44:44
Speaker
On September 17th, the new investigation committee even called for the collection of DNA from the ex-superintendant of the police, SP for short, Bista. So the one who they said, nope, gross negligence or worse, you're off of the investigation. The new investigators called for his DNA, his son's DNA, and the nephew of a local town's mayor.
00:45:14
Speaker
Because they're like, what if they want so like high ranking officials. Yes, but they were also released after the DNA didn't match. So now you can see why the citizens wanted this case looked at by someone.
00:45:31
Speaker
in an even higher position, because if you do have the superintendent of the police potentially involved, you want someone above him who's making sure that things are done the way they're supposed to be done, which is why they reached out to the prime minister. Nirmala's mother Durga and her father, Yagya Rajpanta, traveled to Kathmandu to visit the prime minister and tell him of what happened to their daughter.
00:46:02
Speaker
It is reported that after hearing about the case, the prime minister chided the police for botching the investigation and for all of the mistakes that they had made. So here's this prime minister agreeing with them. Like, yes, they have done a horrible job.
00:46:18
Speaker
and they made far too many mistakes. He then reassured her family that the perpetrators would be found and would be punished regardless of how much power, money, influence, or how high of a position that person held.
00:46:37
Speaker
So these are pretty strong words. You know, it makes me wonder, yeah, it makes me wonder if it is somebody that's kind of well off in the society because that's kind of been handed out by a couple of different people now. Well, we're going to talk about that with the theories.
00:46:56
Speaker
The Prime Minister stated, per an article in the Nepali Reporter, quote, the task of finding out the culprits of this incident was delayed as we relied on the local police in the initial phase of the investigations. The police officers might have committed mistakes or cheated, but one cannot squarely blame anyone without the completion of the investigations. Therefore, the state will look into the matter. We cannot even think
00:47:24
Speaker
of protecting the culprits." But Maggie, here's the problem. That was all he gave. Words and not actions. And even his words didn't hold much weight for a lot of people. The problem is that the Prime Minister, at the same time those comments were made, also didn't seem to take the rights of women very seriously either.
00:47:51
Speaker
In the article Republic of Rape from the Nepali Times, it cites the prime minister as responding when faced with questions concerning women gaining social power, that he is tired of the quote, nag, nag, nag from women's groups, end quote. Yeah. So statements like these made his promise to Nirmala's parents seem a lot more like lip service.
Investigation Flaws and DNA Evidence Issues
00:48:21
Speaker
than an edict to be followed to find justice. Yeah, that's horrible. Mm-hmm. Protests, again, arose, including a sit-in by Nirmala's parents, this time with the slogan, and I love the slogan, justice delayed is justice denied.
00:48:42
Speaker
Yeah, for real it is. That's powerful. In an attempt to quell fights for justice, the police, they just kept arresting potential suspects and then freeing them when the DNA didn't match. Because I've already given you a laundry list of people that that happened to. In December, two other local young men were brought in for interrogation and were said to have confessed to Nirmala's rape and murder.
00:49:10
Speaker
their DNA didn't match the sample. Okay, but that's not the first people that have. Right, exactly. And their DNA didn't match the sample either, and they were released. And afterward, just like so many before them, they actually accused the police of torturing them into making a false confession. So not the first time we've heard that. So I feel like just this entire police system needs redone. Oh, yeah. Needs just like kind of washed and fixed. Right.
00:49:39
Speaker
Even the man who discovered Nirmala's body, Deepak Negi, and another local man were called in as suspects, primarily because they had joined in the search efforts. There was no evidence to be able to link either of them to the crime, and their DNA didn't match, so of course they too were let go. A final man was called in because a lady from the area who had been walking the road
00:50:06
Speaker
near the sugar cane field on the day that Nirmala had disappeared, had seen a man standing by the side of the road, Chakra Badu. The fact that he was near the scene would make sense though, since his house was the closest one to where her bike and later her body would be discovered. So he lives right there.
00:50:28
Speaker
When questioned by police, he said he was at home with his pregnant wife. And while police were a little bit suspicious because he, you know, he's seen right there near the crime scene, his DNA also didn't match. And without anything concrete to link him to the crime, he too was released.
00:50:51
Speaker
So you could, it's almost like they're just grasping at straws. They're like, oh, here's somebody we can arrest. Oh, nope, their DNA doesn't. Here's a random man walking down the street. Yeah, let's just bring everybody in. And to make matters worse, and the distrust of the government's willingness to establish justice, the officers who were previously accused, the ones who were taken off of the investigation, they were actually accused of tampering with and destroying evidence, because remember the washing of the clothes.
00:51:21
Speaker
They were accused of torture during interrogations and of gross negligence in this case. They were all acquitted by the courts on July 30th, 2020.
00:51:33
Speaker
And the registrar with the court- So we just don't care that they were literally washing DNA and blood evidence away? We just don't care. Precisely. The registrar with the court noted that no wounds were reported in medical reports of those who were examined. So obviously, no torture went on. And that there was, quote, no sign of hiding or neglecting evidence, end quote. I would call washing hiding evidence.
00:52:03
Speaker
because you're getting rid of it. This is great. So here's the problem with letting all these potential suspects go though, Maggie. And that is, a report was done by the National Human Rights Commission and they found that the extrication of DNA from the vaginal swab from Nirmala was a quote,
00:52:30
Speaker
insufficient sample of the DNA." And that there were flaws in the method of collection itself that could have led to contamination. So you're saying even though we have DNA, we could have
00:52:49
Speaker
had the killer in there and his DNA not matched hers because her DNA was contaminant or that DNA was contaminated that was precisely right so they're like oh your DNA didn't match you're free oh doesn't match you're free when the collected sample that they have might be so contaminated that it wouldn't match anybody and here's the other problem Maggie because what they collected
00:53:15
Speaker
There were so many flaws. There were even questions about whether sperm was even really found in the sample. Because at least if there were sperm, then you could narrow the perpetrator down to a male. But if there might not even be sperm, well then the list is wide open.
Theories and Speculations on Nirmala's Case
00:53:35
Speaker
Okay, so here are the main suspects. I'm gonna give you five. First, has to do with local military barracks.
00:53:46
Speaker
While we don't know much about this theory, and I only saw it mentioned in one article, I did want to bring it up. With this theory, one of the men from the barracks could easily have passed Nirmala in the road and have committed the crime. So could the DNA actually be a passable specimen?
00:54:09
Speaker
and it just hasn't matched anyone yet because the real perpetrator has yet to be tested. Are the military barracks close to where Nirmala would have been on her bike or like along the route to her friend's house? It's near the sugar cane field.
00:54:29
Speaker
Oh, okay. So I guess I'm wondering, like, how did, how do we think she got there? Did she have to pass the sugar cane field or was she taken there by whoever abducted her? That is a fantastic question. And I didn't see that addressed in any of the research, but I do know that the sugar cane field
00:54:53
Speaker
I think it's near where she would have passed because from what I read, it's the road. And then there's a river between the road and the sugar cane field. Okay. So it's not like out of the way, but she may not have been right. But like in the sugar cane field, she was probably taken there after she was elected, but not like completely out of the way. Exactly. Yes. Theory two.
00:55:21
Speaker
is Dalip Bista. He is the man that I mentioned who was originally arrested by law enforcement as the perpetrator. Bista did confess to the rape and murder of Nirmala to law enforcement. That alone has led many people to believe that he's guilty.
00:55:43
Speaker
He didn't have an alibi. Okay, multiple people confess. I know, that's true. Yeah, we got lots of these, if that's true. He didn't have an alibi, so he could have been in the sugar cane field or by it at the time of the murder. But again, many people believe he would have been incapable of incapacitating Nirmala elsewhere and then bringing her body to the field to stage the scene.
00:56:11
Speaker
So you add this, you know, to what the investigators have said that the perpetrator was quite sophisticated is what the investigators actually said because in the sugar cane field itself, there were no signs of resistance in the field. So there aren't like, I don't know, sugar canes knocked down that showed that there was a struggle there.
00:56:37
Speaker
And that's another one of the reasons that they paused that the crime was committed in another location. And there was also a noticeable lack of footprints at the scene. So they said whoever committed this crime, they were very sophisticated about it. They believed that she was murdered elsewhere and that her body was brought to this particular place and arranged there. And so I think that
00:57:06
Speaker
That detail that it was sophisticated, footprints wiped away, that sort of thing makes people disbelieve theory number two, and it might actually give more credence to the military barrack individual from theory one. Yeah, or if it was someone within law enforcement maybe. Who would know what evidence would be collected and what they would look for to know to wipe it away. Theory three,
00:57:34
Speaker
is a young man named Badu, the one who lived closest to where Nirmula's body was discovered. Right, the one who the woman saw on the road. Oh yeah, with a pregnant life. Right. Before interrogation, or before the interrogation of Badu, police also questioned his wife and his nephew about where Badu had been during the time when Nirmula likely died.
00:58:04
Speaker
His wife said that they were watching a Hindi film when she had fallen asleep. When Badu was questioned though, he said that they had been watching an English movie. Now, I mean for most, that's probably not enough to immediately brand him a liar.
00:58:24
Speaker
I mean, that could have been an honest mistake. Yeah, but I thought that would be hard to mistake though. I guess it depends on how much later after this happened that they questioned him. And like, if they normally watched a movie at night, you know, and like that night, it was an English, he thought it was an English movie, but it was actually the Hindi movie that they watched that night.
00:58:49
Speaker
I mean, I don't know if that is enough for me. Yeah, and if it's been like a couple weeks or days, then you know. Right, exactly. You forget which one. However, investigators also found that he knew the Ponta family because his sister-in-law had accompanied Nirmala's mother to Bonbasa before and this guy, Badu. Despite saying that he had never visited the crime scene,
00:59:18
Speaker
happened to have over a dozen pictures on his phone of the crime scene, which were taken before the police had arrived. Oh, that to me is just a red flag. Red flag. Now, he explained to law enforcement his explanation of the pictures. He said he had gotten them from a photo sharing website.
00:59:46
Speaker
But when the investigator said, well, who shared the photos on that site? He said he didn't know that information to tell them. No, red lights. That's theory three. Theory four, the bomb sisters.
01:00:03
Speaker
The two sisters, if Durga's story is true of their actions and words when she came to their home looking for Nirmala, were off-putting and harsh, right? When they're like, how am I supposed to know where your daughter is? Yeah, I'm not her keeper.
01:00:20
Speaker
Exactly. If there were truly no DNA sperm evidence, then the two girls might have been responsible for her death and could have stripped her in order to make a rape appear likely. Because we all know, I mean, based on all those statistics I gave you, how common that crime was anyway. Right? So it's easy to make it look like. Do they have a reason? So...
01:00:50
Speaker
Not them precisely, but I'm going to get back to them in theory five. But if they had something to do with it, it would explain why they wouldn't let Durga inside the home.
01:01:06
Speaker
because rumors actually spread around the town that the bomb girls had Nirmala's body in their home until past midnight. These are the rumors though that are going around. Hence why she wasn't discovered until the next morning and why the notebooks weren't wet from the rain the previous night.
01:01:27
Speaker
Well, that kind of makes sense though. Yeah, the younger bomb sister had also said that she sent Nirmala on her way with two guava from her guava tree to eat. But by the time the officers came to arrest the bomb sisters for interrogation, that tree had been chopped down.
01:01:49
Speaker
Some people believe it was cut down because there might have been evidence of a crime on it. Others say that was just a coincidence. So then I'm wondering how a crime could have been committed and the evidence beyond this tree and other people not have seen it or heard it. Right. Right.
01:02:10
Speaker
That I don't know. I will say that a lot of the suspicion around the sisters had to do with the fact that their father was also a good friend of the superintendent of police, the one whose DNA was requested later. So there's a link to why their accusations, right, of the bomb sisters, why potentially law enforcement might have tried to cover it up.
01:02:38
Speaker
So people are like, oh, maybe that would explain if the police were intentionally trying to cover up something. If the superintendent of police is those girls father's good friend, then maybe he was doing his good friend a favor. The final theory is that superintendent of police SP Beastas son and the mayor's son. So the
01:03:06
Speaker
two of the three people whose DNA was collected. Because remember, Superintendent of Police, his DNA, his son's DNA, and then the mayor's son.
01:03:16
Speaker
This theory is primarily based upon the fact that the police were seen destroying evidence, right? Like washing the stuff. They were so quick to arrest someone who nearly everyone believed was incapable of committing the crime and they failed to properly secure the crime scene or to properly collect DNA evidence.
01:03:39
Speaker
So if somebody said, as many of them did, that law enforcement was trying to hide something at the scene or something related to the crime, it sure did look like they were right. Yeah, either that or they're just very incapable. Yes. And with this theory of the superintendent of police's son and the mayor's son, there are two reasons why this theory is likely the most plausible one for a lot of people.
01:04:07
Speaker
First, it is rumored and was reported in the English version of Cobber Hub that the Prime Minister knew of the involvement in the rape and murder by either local officials or one of their family members, and that the Prime Minister was using that insider knowledge to blackmail those officials. Okay, I can see that though.
01:04:32
Speaker
So the same prime minister who's like, I, no matter how much money or what rank they have, they will not get away with this. They're going down. They're getting away with it in the public. They're just paying the price via blackmail. Yeah.
01:04:47
Speaker
And that was reported in that news article. The second reason that a lot of people feel like this theory is correct is because, do you remember earlier when I said with the Baum sisters that there were two local young men who were known to frequent the girl's house? Is it these people? It is these two. Yep. These are the two young men, the SP's son and the mayor's son who were always over there. So again, if,
01:05:17
Speaker
Nirmala had gone over there and these two boys were over there and they were the ones who had committed the crime. Then people are saying, well, could the sisters maybe not have been directly involved with Nirmala's death, but did they know exactly what happened to her? And maybe they were protecting those two men all along, which would again explain why they wouldn't let Nirmala's mom into their home.
Family Grief and Calls for Reform
01:05:44
Speaker
Okay, Maggie, what are your thoughts?
01:05:47
Speaker
So I don't know that I think the Balm Sisters killed Nirmala, but I do think they know what happened. And I thought that, you know, basically from the beginning when they first came into the scene and wouldn't let the mom into the house. But now that you've kind of connected the dots that these two men from this final theory or boys, I guess, were always
01:06:11
Speaker
at their house, I'm wondering if it maybe was the mayor's son and the superintendent of police's son. It makes sense to me. Yeah. With like the way the whole investigation was treated, which was super questionable. You almost feel like there has to be a connection. And I think that the point about the blackmail makes it even more real to me because I just feel like
01:06:42
Speaker
with the way this investigation was handled and just some other stuff that was mentioned in the telling of this episode, I just really think that I wouldn't put it past members of this government to do that. Mm-hmm. Nirmala's mother, Durga, has heard the same words stated over and over for years. The investigation is still ongoing, but her hope in the face of unanswered questions has not remained as consistent.
01:07:11
Speaker
She stated in an article with My Republicans titled, Nirmala murder case remains a mystery even after three years, published on July 25th, 2021, quote, I am unsure if they will ever get to the bottom of this case. Have the police found anything yet? If they had wanted, they would have already arrested the culprit. No one is there to give us any justice. I've lost all hope, end quote.
01:07:40
Speaker
Nirmala's father lost much more than hope. He lost his mind. The loss soon took its toll with all of the mental strain. The article Justice Delayed and Denied in the Nepali Times detailed that he became aggressive, that he would jump at even the slightest sound, and that he was continuously agitated. He believed that there was a conspiracy to murder him.
01:08:07
Speaker
and would try to beat or scratch those who came too close to him. Despite the fact that there is so much loss in this case, and it would be easy to merely focus on the evil, there is also progress. Nirmala has been the face of the protest against the sexual violence against women in Nepal. She helped to bring other cases to the light. Her case has helped to increase the pressure for change.
01:08:36
Speaker
Because Nirmala's case has helped so many others, it's time that we, in turn, help her. Share her story this week, Sleuthhounds. Post about Nirmala and her family's fight for justice. As those fighting for answers so aptly put, justice delayed is justice denied. So let's not put off joining the fight alongside them any longer.
01:09:03
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
01:09:33
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.
01:09:57
Speaker
The previous episode was created using Zencaster. Use the coupon code linked in our show notes to start podcasting today.