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Appendix: 62 Pending Cases of Human Rights Violations by District

This appendix lists 62 cases of individuals who have suffered grave human rights violations, in relation to which 49 First Information Reports (FIRs) are pending. They are organized according to district in alphabetical order. Under each district, the cases are listed in chronological order.

In each case, the “Persons to be Questioned” names persons known who were in positions of command at the relevant police station or army camp, and therefore who should be interviewed as part of any investigation into the serious violations that are alleged to have taken place. In some cases, witnesses named additional persons they saw who they believe played a role in the incident. The position of security force personnel, e.g., commander, refers to the position held at the time of the incident. This list is not exclusive.

Baglung District

Case 1:

Name: Raju B.K.

Date of Incident: March 1, 2002
Age: 29
Address: Baglung Municipality-10, Baglung District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Kalidal Battalion, Baglung barracks;
2. Major Chandra Bahadur Pun, commander of Kalidal Battalion, Baglung barracks;
3. Other soldiers of Kalidal Battalion deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On March 1, 2002, a group of eight or nine armed and uniformed soldiers arrested Raju B.K. at his father's house in Baglung Municipality-11. They did not produce an arrest warrant but stated they were arresting him on suspicion of being a leader of the Maoists. Following his arrest, Raju’s family repeatedly visited the Baglung barracks, the only barracks in the area, asking if Raju was there. Family members were denied access to the commander of the military facility. On their visit to the barracks on March 2, army personnel at the entrance told them that Raju was not there. They threatened Raju's younger brother Arjun, and told him not to visit the barracks again. When the family, including Raju's mother, visited the barracks on March 3, the army personnel at the gate told them that Raju was detained there, that an investigation was in progress, and that he was safe.

At around 7:30 a.m. on March 4, an unidentified soldier dressed in uniform visited Raju's house, and asked the family to go to the District Police Office (DPO) in Baglung to see Raju. When the family visited the DPO that day, police told them that soldiers had killed Raju when he had tried to escape. Raju's father was asked to sign a document, the content of which he was not allowed to read. A police officer escorted the father to Baglung hospital where Raju's dead body was being kept. Raju had been shot twice on the left side of his chest and had sustained injuries on his neck and forehead; blood had clotted around his mouth. The family collected the body from the hospital and performed the last rituals under heavy army and police presence.

The army pressured the family to cremate the body as quickly as possible. Raju's father complained about the incident, and sought compensation. He went to the DPO and the Chief District Officer (CDO) in Baglung, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the king at various dates immediately following the incident. However, there was no investigation or inquiry into the event. The family also reported the case to the NHRC in mid-March 2007 immediately after registering the complaint with the police. As of August 2008, the NHRC investigations had not been completed.

Official Action: An FIR was filed at the Baglung DPO on March 18, 2007. As of August 2008, the police had failed to make any progress in the case. Advocacy Forum was informed that a post-mortem had been carried out in Baglung Hospital but despite repeated requests, the family was denied access to the report.

Case 2 and 3:

Names: Ganga Gauchan and Pahalbir BK alias “Pahal Singh”

Date of Incident: July 11, 2004
Age: 32 and 29, respectively
Address: Tara VDC-9, Baglung District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Khadgadal Battalion, Baglung;
2. Major Angshi Bista, commander of Khadgadal Battalion.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On July 11, 2004, Ganga, who was a carpenter by profession, had gone to visit his friend, Pahal Singh, at Tara VDC-5 in Sagukot. According to his family, Ganga was planning to go to Dubai for work and had visited Pahal to borrow money. According to detailed statements from four eyewitnesses, a group of soldiers from Khadgadal Barracks arrived at a shop where Ganga and Pahal were chatting. According to statements from local residents, the soldiers were under the command of Major Angshi Bista. The soldiers asked them for information concerning Maoists. When the two men denied having any information, the soldiers accused them of hiding Maoists and started beating them. After some time, the soldiers dragged both the men 25 meters away from the shop and shot them. Witnesses said that the men were killed at around 3:30 p.m.

Gauchan’s relatives refused to remove the body, and they demanded that the government start an investigation. However, the security forces threatened the families and forced them to dispose of the bodies immediately. Neither man had any known political affiliations.

On August 28, 2004, a delegation of local human rights organizations, including a representative of Advocacy Forum, interviewed witnesses and inspected the scene of the incident and concluded that the army had been involved. On August 31, 2004, family members of both men complained to the District Administration Office. They also made a complaint to the police about the incident, and demanded that an investigation be initiated. Neither of these institutions started an investigation. On September 13, 2004, 40-50 villagers dug up Ganga and Pahal’s bodies and took them 400 meters away from the scene of the incident and gave them a burial according to local rites.

Official Action: Two FIRs were filed on February 15, 2007. As of August 2008 the authorities, including the CDO, had not taken any further action.

Case 4:

Name: Dilli Prasad Sapkota

Date of Incident: February 8, 2005
Age: 35
Address: Baglung Municipality-2, Hadepakha, Baglung District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing (after torture)

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Major Shiva Poudel, commander of Khadgadal Battalion, Baglung Barracks;
2. Police inspector Binod Ghimire of DPO, Baglung;
3. Around 25 - 30 other soldiers from Khadgadal Battalion, Baglung Barracks.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On the morning of February 8, 2005, a group of 50-60 security personnel arrested Dilli Prasad Sapkota at Danbisaula, Pala VDC-9 in Baglung District. The security personnel were under the command of Major Shiva Poudel of Khadgadal Battalion, and police inspector Binod Ghimire from the DPO in Baglung. Dilli Prasad was the head of the Maoist-affiliated Baglung Municipality “People's Government” and also held various district-level portfolios in the CPN-M. According to three eye-witnesses, after Dilli Prasad’s arrest, the men tied him to a tree, tortured him severely, and then shot him dead at around 3 p.m. the same day. His body was taken for a post-mortem examination at Baglung District Hospital the next day. The body was then handed over to the family who held his funeral later that day.

Dilli Prasad’s family members made several complaints to the DPO in Baglung and to the Khadgadal Barracks, demanding action against the suspects. Instead of registering their complaint, the security forces threatened to kill the family if they persisted with their demands. On August 15, 2005, Dilli Prasad’s wife registered an application with the NHRC. On June 11, 2006, the family received information from the NHRC that an investigation was underway. The NHRC has yet to decide on the case.

Official Action: The family visited the DPO in Baglung to register a FIR on July 21, 2006. While police officers at the DPO gave assurances that they would register the case, as of August 2008, the FIR had not been registered.

Banke District

Case 5 and 6:

Names: Dal Bahadur Thapa and Parbati Thapa

Date of Incident: September 10, 2002
Age: Both aged 33
Address: Rajhena VDC-2, Madanchowk, Banke District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Major Ajit Kumar Thapa of Bhimkali Company, Chisapani Barracks, Banke;
2. Captain Ramesh Swar of Bhimkali Company, Chisapani Barracks, Banke;
3.Commander of Bageshwori Battalion of APF, Samshergunj, Banke;
4. Commander of Bhimkali Battalion.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At around 8:40 p.m. on September 10, 2002, Dal Bahadur’s family was woken by the sound of gunshots. The firing on their house lasted 15 minutes and wounded Dal, his wife Parbati, and their 10-month-old daughter Deepa. As Dal’s mother prepared to take the wounded family members to the hospital, they saw 50-60 security forces approaching the house with flashlights. The security personnel forced the uninjured members of the family out of the house, and slapped and punched the victim’s younger sister. According to Dal’s mother, the men went into the house and stole a camera, some jewellery, and NRs11,000 in cash from one of the cupboards. They also planted bombs in the house. Dal’s family members allege that the security forces got perturbed at the sight of the wounded bodies and allege that one security official, speaking on his walkie-talkie, claimed that, “We had a clash with terrorists in Nauwasta. No casualties from our side, but two of them were killed.”

At 8 a.m. the following day, 12-13 armed security men arrived at Dal’s house. According to the family, they collected the bombs that they had planted in the house the previous day. Following this incident the family heard an announcement on Radio Nepal that claimed two terrorists had been killed in a shooting in Nauwasta area, and that some home-made bombs, a video camera, and NRs11,000 had been seized. Dal’s mother claimed that security personnel threatened her when she went to the Bhimkali Battalion and Armed Police Office at Samshergunj to submit a complaint. Staff at the District Administration Office and DPO in Banke made similar threats to her. Dal’s mother finally gave a verbal complaint since the officials refused to register a written complaint.

Official Action: The police initially refused to file a FIR when the family visited the Banke DPO on April 30, 2007. The victim’s mother sought a writ in court to order the DPO to register the complaint. On July 5, 2007, the Appeal Court of Banke ordered DPO Banke to register the FIR. The FIR was finally registered on July 15, 2007, at Kohalpur Area Police Office, Banke District. After considerable pressure from Advocacy Forum and OHCHR, the Kohalpur Area Police Office took statements from two witnesses in May 2008. On May 5, 2008, the Kohalpur Area Police Office wrote to the Bageshwori Battalion of APF, Samshergunj, Banke District, and Bhimkali Company, Banke District, to identify and produce suspects to the police. A similar letter was written again on August 13, 2007. However, as of August 2008, these authorities had not responded.

Case 7 and 8:

Name: Dhaniram Chaudhari and Jorilal Chaudhari

Date of Incident: September 29, 2004
Age: 33 and 30, respectively
Address: Baijapur Village Development Committee-2, Belapur, Banke District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Head of the security base camp, Kusum, Banke;
2. Police Inspector Arjun Dharel, deployed at the Camp;
3. Head of Bageshwari Battalion of APF, Shamshergunj, Banke;
4. Security personnel involved in the firing whose family name is “Sardar”;
5. Commander of the security squad.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On September 29, 2004, at around 12:50 p.m., some 200 security personnel of the APF (deployed from Bageshwori Gan and APF Base Camp of Kusum, Banke) surrounded the Premnagar village of Khaskusma VDC ward no. 4, and started firing indiscriminately in the village for half an hour. The security personnel were following Maoists in the locality, and started searching and arresting local people. They produced no arrest warrant for any of the arrests made. During the search, around 1 p.m., they arrested two brothers, Dhaniram Tharu and Jorilal Tharu, who were working in the field of their landlord Dilaram Dangi. The security personnel started questioning the two men, and then shot them dead. According to an eye-witness, when the security forces were shooting, one of the security personnel called out to his colleague by the name of “Sardar.” According to eye-witnesses, at the end of the search the security personnel carried five corpses, including those of Dhaniram and Jorilal Chaudhari, to a shed located about 500 meters from the village along the Nepalgunj-Butwal highway, where the base camp is located.

When the wives of the two men, along with some other villagers, went to collect their husband’s bodies from the army base camp at Kusum, security personnel threatened them and sent them away. The women said they saw at the camp seven corpses including those of their husbands and three women. Soldiers refused to hand over the dead bodies to the families. On various dates after the incident, the wives visited the security base camp at Kusum and the APF Battalion at Bageshwari to complain about the incident. Security personnel threatened them and told them to stop visiting. The two women also visited the Banke DPO and CDO on various dates to complain about the incident, but staff ignored them. The NHRC is investigating into the case on its own initiative. As of August 2008, the NHRC’s investigations had not concluded.

Official Action: On October 5, 2007, the victims' families, accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers and OHCHR-Nepal representatives, approached the Banke DPO to register an FIR. The police superintendent, Uttam Karki, refused to register the FIR stating that such an incident would be investigated by the TRC, not by the police. After several visits by the families, the superintendent claimed that he needed to discuss the incident with other government agencies. On October 29, 2007, the Kohalpur Area Police Office in Banke finally registered the FIR.

On May 5, 2008, after considerable pressure from Advocacy Forum and OHCHR, the Kohalpur Area police office wrote to both Kusum camp officials and Bageshwari APF Battalion asking them to identify and produce the witnesses to the incident to assist the investigation. As of August 2008, these authorities had not responded.

Bardiya District

Case 9:

Name: Keshar Bahadur Basnet

Date of Incident: March 11, 2002
Age: 29
Address: Neulapur VDC-4, Bardiya District
Nature of Crime: Enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Major Lawa Rayamajhi, commander of Barakhadal Battalion of Thakurdhwara Army Barracks;
2. NA soldiers and security personnel deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 4 p.m. on March 11, 2002, NA soldiers arrested Keshar Bahadur Basnet, an accountant at a local health center, at his office located in Bhurigaun, Banke District. According to Keshar’s elder brother, Dip Bahadur Basnet, and others who witnessed his arrest, Keshar was taken to the Thakurdhwara Army Barracks in an army vehicle. These witnesses told Advocacy Forum that Keshar soldiers beat Keshar, including on his nose, mouth, and legs with pieces of wood at the time of his arrest. The next day, several army personnel, including Major Lawa Rayamajhi, came to the health center where Dip also worked and assured him that his brother would be released soon. Keshar’s family went to the Thakurdhwara Barracks several times after the incident. Security officials acknowledged that Keshar had been detained there, but the family was not allowed to see him.

A detainee who was imprisoned in Gulariya Barracks reported to Keshar’s family that Keshar and another person were brought to the barracks from Thakurdwara Army Barracks on April 7, 2002. At around 8 a.m. on April 16, 2002, a group of seven or eight army personnel came to the barracks, loaded Keshar into a vehicle, and took him away. Keshar has not been seen since.

The Neupane Committee in the Home Ministry reported that, “Keshar was killed in a clash between security forces and the Maoists which occurred in a garden nursery area of Manau VDC on April 11, 2002.” The government has not provided the family with any further information regarding Keshar’s body.

Official Action: On February 14, 2007, the family presented a FIR to the Bardiya CDO in the presence of Advocacy Forum lawyers and OHCHR-Nepal representatives. Earlier that day, the DPO had refused to file the FIR. Following an order by the CDO to register the FIR, the DPO did so. On March 7, 2007, the DPO wrote to the Thakurdwara Barracks requesting that they identify the suspects, and produce them before the DPO. The Thakurdwara Barracks responded on March 24, 2007, stating that the Barakhdal Battalion has been transferred to Kailali district. On August 5, 2007, the DPO wrote to Barakhdal Battalion asking whether soldiers deployed from Barakhdal had arrested Keshar Bahadur Basnet. Responding to the DPO, Barakhdal Battalion stated on November 9, 2007 that the battalion has no record of the arrest of Keshar Basnet as documents relating to Maoist activity during the conflict are no longer in the battalion’s possession and because Lav Rayamajhi, the head of the battalion is out of country. The DPO has not taken any further steps since.

Case 10:

Name: Bhauna Tharu (Bhauna Chaudhary, according to citizenship card)

Date of Incident: May 30, 2002
Age: 21
Address: Neulapur Village Development Committeee-2, Sujanpur, Bardiya District.
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Person to be Questioned: Parasu Kumal, Nepal Army, who was deployed at the Ranaser Battalion, Thakurdwara Army Barracks, Bardiya District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At 1:15 p.m. on May 30, 2002, Bhauna Tharu was killed at his house in Sujanpur village, Neulapur VDC-4 in the Bardiya District. A group of soldiers had arrived in the locality at around 1 p.m, after chasing a suspected Maoist. According to witnesses, who were mostly Bhauna’s family members, two of the soldiers entered Bhauna’s house and shot him dead. The family was able to identify the suspects as being army personnel from Thakurdwara Army Barracks in Bardiya District. They recognized one of them as Parasu Kumal, whose family lived in the village. They were not able to obtain the other soldier’s name. The family cremated Bhauna’s body the following day at a nearby river. When Bhauna’s father went to the District Administration Office to lodge a complaint on June 13, 2002, the CDO rejected it claiming that Bhauna “would not have been killed by the soldiers had he not been a Maoist.” The family claims that Bhauna was not a Maoist.

A month after the incident, two men, dressed in civilian clothes, approached the victim’s father and asked him to sign documents confirming that his son was a Maoist. In return they offered him NRs10,000. Bhauna’s father refused the money but did not lodge a complaint with the Takurdwara Army Barracks due to fear of reprisals from the army. Bhauna’s father registered a complaint with the NHRC’s regional office and with the ICRC’s regional office in Nepalgunj, Banke District, on October 24, 2005.

Official Action: On July 24, 2006, the DPO registered a FIR in the presence of Advocacy Forum lawyers and OHCHR-Nepal representatives. Earlier that day, the DPO had refused to register the complaint. After a meeting with the CDO and district public prosecutor, the CDO ordered the DPO to register it. The DPO wrote two letters to the Thakurdwara Barracks, requesting officials to identify the suspects. The barracks responded but without providing the details requested by DPO. The DPO, Bardiya, on November 19, 2006, wrote once again to Thakurdwara Barracks asking for details of the suspects. As of August 2008, the barracks had not responded to the DPO.

Dadeldhura District

Cases 11 and 12:

Names: Nar Bahadur Budhamagar and Ratan Bahadur Budhamagar

Date of Incident: August 17, 2004
Age: 40 and 32, respectively
Address: Jogmudha VDC-4, Gajalidanda, Dadeldhura District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Members of the Suryadal battalion, Bhagatpur Army Barracks, Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur;
2. Battalion Commander of the Suryadal battalion;
3. Army personnel deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 6 a.m. on August 17, 2004, approximately 150 soldiers from the Suryadal Battalion surrounded the house of Nar Bahadur and his younger brother, Ratan Bahadur, and arrested them. Two soldiers took Ratan Bahadur's wife, Madhudevi, to a cowshed near the house and raped her repeatedly until she lost consciousness. Witnesses claim that soldiers marched Nar and Ratan around the village before taking them to Suda VDC-6 in Kanchanpur District. Here, according to witnesses, the brothers were shot dead at around 4 p.m.

Local villagers, including Tikaram Giri and Pirima Devi Nath heard the shots, arrived at the scene, and reported that Ratan had been shot in the chest and leg, and that Nar had been shot in the neck. They later accompanied the victims' family to the scene of the incident. The family buried the bodies at the scene due to fear of reprisals from the perpetrators.

The soldiers also arrested Man Bahadur Budhamagar, a younger brother of Ratan and Nar Bahadur, on the same day and took him to Suryadal Battalion in Bhagatpur. He was released after 17 days through an order from the CDO. He claims that he was severely tortured while held in the barracks. Before his release Man Bahadur Budhamagar was forced to sign a document that stated the soldiers had not raped his sister-in-law.

After approximately one year, family members went to the DPO in Kanchanpur to report the killings and rape. The DPO refused to register their complaint. Relatives of the victims also complained to the NHRC in mid-2005 when a NHRC team came to the village and documented the case. They were told that the NHRC had registered the case and would start investigations. As of August 2008, the NHRC had not made any decision on the case. It had informed the family that the investigation was ongoing.

Official Action: The family visited the DPO to file two FIRs on February 11, 2007, related to the killings. They did not file a FIR in relation to the rape as the statute of limitations in relation to rape is 35 days, and this time limit had long since expired. The DPO refused to register the FIRs. The family appealed to the CDO to order the registration of the FIR, but the CDO refused and suggested that they return on February 13. On their second attempt the CDO again refused. Both the DPO and CDO harassed Advocacy Forum's lawyer and the family members for bringing the case to their attention. Since all the agencies had refused to register the FIR, a writ of mandamus was filed in the Mahendranagar Appellate Court, Kanchanpur, on February 22 seeking an order to register the FIRs. The court issued an order for the police to register the FIRs on April 9, 2007. However, the police did not register the FIRs claiming it was a “political issue that needs to be solved politically.” Advocacy Forum then called the DPO in Kanchanpur to ask why the police were refusing to register the FIRs and threatened to move for contempt of court. On June 18, 2007, the police finally registered the FIRs. As of August 2008, no further progress had been reported.

On June 5, 2008, Advocacy Forum filed a writ petiton for contempt of court and mandamus at the Appeal Court, Kanchanpur, as the police did not start any investigation. The case was pending in court at this writing, with the next hearing date scheduled for September 9, 2008.

Case 13:

Name: Jaya Lal Dhami

Date of Incident: February 12, 2005
Age: 33
Address: Jogbudha VDC-4, Pipalbot, Dadeldhura District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Members of the Suryadal battalion, Bhagatpur Army Barracks, Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur District;
2. Major Rajiv Shah commander of the Suryadal battalion;
3. Unified command deployed at the scene of the killing.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: In the early morning on February 12, 2005, Jaya Lal Dhami left his home to go to Mahendranagar. He stayed at a relative’s house for some hours and then left to return home. He never made it back. On the same night a radio broadcast claimed that security forces had killed “terrorists” in an encounter at Putalibazaar. The next day, Jaya Lal’s uncle, Dhoj Dhami, visited the area where the alleged shooting of terrorists took place. The uncle was shown the place where the bodies of four alleged terrorists had been buried. Villagers claimed that after security personnel killed the four people, they had asked the villagers to dig a pit to bury the bodies. The villagers reported that three of the victims had been arrested by the army earlier that afternoon as they were hanging posters with Maoist slogans. The villagers reported that the three victims were brought to the scene of the incident and shot. They claim that the “encounter” had been faked.

Since the uncle could not trace Jaya Lal, he suspected he could have been the fourth victim. He visited the Bhagatpur army barracks, and requested that Major Rajiv Shah of the Suryadal battalion make inquiries into the killing. Major Rajiv Shah acknowledged to the uncle that an innocent citizen, namely Jaya Lal, had “also been killed in the shooting.” No further details were provided. On February 14, 2005, Jaya’s family went to the DPO to register the case, but the police refused to cooperate. The family then went to the CDO Dhruba Raj Wagle, who did not order the registration of the case.

Official Action: The police filed a FIR on September 10, 2007. As of August 2008 no further action on the FIR had been taken.

Dhading District

Case 14:

Name: Sarala Sapkota

Date of Incident: July 15, 2004
Age: 15
Address: Jivanpur VDC-1, Chhapagaun, Dhading District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Person to be Questioned: An NA patrol led by a major from Shree Number 6 Brigade Headquarters Office, Baireni barracks, Dhading District

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 11 p.m. on July 15, 2004, a group of 12 armed soldiers arrested Sarala Sapkota at her grandfather’s house. The family, who witnessed the arrest, stated that soldiers gave Sarala no reason for her arrest. After her arrest, Sarala’s family went to Baireni barracks and the DPO in Dhading, but all the officials denied her arrest and detention. Sarala’s father then filed an application with the NHRC on July 26, 2004 asking them to investigate the “disappearance.” The family received no information about Sarala for over 16 months. On January 11, 2006, an NHRC team, including forensic experts, exhumed Sarala's body from a place near her village. Sarala's father confirmed the clothes and slippers found belonged to his daughter. NHRC investigations are continuing, and the NHRC states it is awaiting the results of DNA tests on the remains.

Official Action:The police filed a FIR on June 28, 2006, but have not carried out a serious investigation. On November 2, 2007, Bhakta Bahadur Sapkota, Sarala’s father, made an application to the Supreme Court seeking an order against the DPO and the district public prosecutor office in Dhading requiring them to carry out an investigation. As of August 2008, the case was pending in the Supreme Court.

Dhanusha District

Case 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19:

Names: Sanjeev Kumar Karna, Durgesh Kumar Labh, Jitendra Jha, Shailendra Yadav and Pramod Narayan Mandal

Date of Incident: October 8, 2003
Age: 24, 23, 19, 22, and 24, respectively
Address: Janakpur Municipality-10, Dhanusha District
Nature of Crime: Enforced disappearances

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Dr. Chuda Bahadur Shrestha, Senior Superintendent of Police, Regional Police Office, Janakpur;
2. Rewati Raj Kafle, Chief District Officer, Dhanusha District;
3. Kuber Singh Rana, District Police Chief, superintendent of police, Dhanusha District;
4. Major Anup Adhikari, Shree Number 9 Battalion of Army Barrack, Dhanusha District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Between 12:10 p.m. and 2 p.m. on October 8, 2003, security forces arrested 11 persons without arrest warrants, including Sanjeev, Durgesh, Jitendra, Shailendra, and Pramod, from the Kataiyachauri area of Janakpur Municipality-4. After the arrest, all were taken to the Regional Police Office in Janakpur, where they were reportedly interrogated by Dr. Chuda Bahadur Shrestha in the presence of Rewati Raj Kafle, Kuber Singh Rana, and Major Anup Adhikari. Jay Kishor Lav, whose son was one of the 11 arrested, states he witnessed the young men being lined up in the compound of the regional police office in Dhanusha. The police denied the 11 persons had been arrested. On October 9, their families complained to the NHRC which initiated an investigation.

On January 23, 2006, the NHRC received a letter from the Human Rights Cell of the NA, which stated that Sanjeev and his four friends had been killed in a police operation in Janakpur area on October 8, 2003. The letter did not state how they were killed and where the remains were or if the bodies had been disposed of. Following the correspondence from the NA, the NHRC wrote to the inspector general of police. In a response dated February 24, 2006, Nepal Police Headquarters stated that a police task force, coordinated by a deputy inspector general, was investigating the case. As of August 2008, the report of this investigation had not been made available to the NHRC.

Official Action: The police filed two FIRs on July 9, 2006. The arrest and “disappearances” of Sanjeev, Jitendra, Durgesh, and Shailendra were registered in a single FIR, and the FIR regarding Pramod Narayan’s “disappearance” was filed separately. The police have not carried out a serious investigation. Advocacy Forum made a follow-up visit to the Dhanusha DPO on November 20, 2006, in relation to the formation of the task force. The police stated that they had written to the NHRC on October 30, 2006; to the Gorakh Box Battalion of Nepali Army in Mahottari on November 12, 2006, with a copy to Nepal Army Headquarters in Kathmandu; and to Nepal Police Headquarters and its Human Rights Cell in Kathmandu on October 25, 2006, requesting all of them to provide any information related to the case. The DPO stated it had received no responses from any of the concerned agencies.

On January 28, 2007, Jay Kishor Lav, Sanjeev’s father, filed a writ in the Supreme Court against the DPO in Dhanusha. On August 21, 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the Nepal Police Headquarters to provide a report on the investigations carried out by its internal investigating committee. As of January 2008 the report had not been provided to the court.

On July 9, 2006, the police had been taken to the alleged site where, according to witnesses, the bodies of Sanjeev Kumar Karna and the other students are believed to have been buried. The police marked the site, but as of August 2008, no further action had been taken to exhume the bodies. The families claim that the police are not adequately securing the sites. When Advocacy Forum lawyers visited the DPO on January 17, 2008, the Deputy Superintendent of Police informed them that the police had collated all the FIRs registered in connection with the armed conflict, including the two FIRs relating to this incident, and had kept them aside without acting upon them.

Case 20 and 21:

Name: Ram Chandra Lal Karna and Manoj Kumar Dutta

Date of Incident: October 12, 2003
Age: 35 and 39, respectively
Address: Nagarain VDC-1 and Janakpur Municipality-8, respectively, Dhanusha District
Nature of Crime: Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Dr. Chuda Bahadur Shrestha, Senior Superintendent of Police, Regional Police Office, Janakpur District;
2. Rewoti Raj Kafle, Chief District Administration Officer, Dhanusha District;
3. Kuber Singh Rana, district police chief, superintendent of police, Dhanusha District;
4. Major Anup Adhikari, Shree Number 9 Battalion of Army Barrack, Dhanusha District;
5. Security officers and security persons deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At around 10:15 a.m. on October 12, 2003, a group of 25-30 security forces, dressed in civilian clothes, arrested Ram Chandra Lal Karna and his friend Manoj Kumar Dutta, from Manoj Kumar’s home in Janakpur, Municipality 8. The security forces did not produce any arrest warrant. According to Manoj’s parents and his wife, who witnessed the arrest, Manoj was forced to lie down on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. He was then beaten with sticks and stones, and kicked until he started bleeding profusely. According to three witnesses and Manoj Dutta's family members, following their arrest, Manoj and Ram Chandra were taken to the DPO in Dhanusha. However, when family members visited the DPO on October 13, 2003, officials denied their arrest and detention.

The families visited different police stations and lodged complaints with different organizations such as the NHRC, ICRC, and OHCHR, but did not receive any response from the government. On June 7, 2005, the families received a letter from the NHRC that quoted information received from the Human Rights Cell of the NA on April 11, 2005. It stated that Ram Chandra and Manoj had been killed in an encounter that had taken place in the Janakpur area on October 12, 2003. Neither family received any information regarding what happened to the victim’s bodies.

Official Action: The police filed two FIRs on October 19, 2006. The DPO in Dhanusha on October 20, 2006, communicated with police headquarters in Kathmandu about the registration of the FIR and requested clarification. Recently, the DPO in Dhanusha told Advocacy Forum lawyers that they had collected all the FIRs registered in connection with the armed conflict including that of Ram Chandra and had kept them aside and not acted on them. As of August 2008, the DPO had not initiated any further investigation.

Case 22-26:

Name: Lapten Yadav, Ram Nath Yadav, Shatrughan Yadav, Rajgir Yadav and Ram Pukar Yadav

Date of Incident: October 1, 2004
Age: 26, 43, 31, 36, and 57, respectively
Address: Chorakoyalpul VDC-2, Dhanusha District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Dr. Chuda Bahadur Shrestha, Senior Superintendent of Police of Regional Police Office, Janakpur District;
2. The CDO of District Administration Office (DAO), Dhanusha District;
3. Tapendradhoj Hamal, superintendent of police, DPO Dhanusha District;
4. Lieuntant Aditya Pratap Singh, second commander of Unified Command situated at Yadukuha VDC, Dhanusha District;
5. Police Head Constable Shrawan Shah of Mahottari District, Bardibas VDC of DPO, Dhanusha District;
6. Security officers and security personnel deployed on the spot;
7. Budhan Shah, Satya Narayan Shah aka Bijuli, Satrighan Yadav aka Pujan, Jaisi Yadav, and Jagdish Prasad Shah aka Chhotka from Balawakhar VDC-2, Dhanusha District;
8. Ramyatan Yadav aka Manajer and Rambabu Yadav from Chorakoyalpul VDC-5, Dhanusha District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on October 1, 2004, a group of security personnel entered the homes of Lapten Yadav, Ram Nath Yadav, Rajgir Yadav, and Ram Pukar Yadav, and arrested them. Shatrughan Yadav was arrested from the home of Ram Nath. At Lapten’s home, security personnel entered the courtyard of the house and, on seeing Lapten, pointed a pistol at him and arrested him. Upon his arrest, about 10-15 security personnel, including Shrawan Shah, came into Lapten’s house and started to search the house.

Security personnel told the families that the senior superintendent of police, superintendent of police, and chief district officer ordered them to arrest the five men. Security personnel took the five arrested men around 100 meters from the village where 40-50 additional security officers were already stationed. According to the two eyewitnesses who were arrested at the same time but released the next morning, the five men were severely beaten for an hour. Security forces then took the men away.

Security officers threatened the family members and ordered them not to follow where the men were being taken. The families later learned from those who were released that all five had been taken to Chaurikhet, located to the south of Keutani village of Chorakoyalpur VDC, in Dhanusha District. According to the eyewitnesses, they were shot at 5 a.m. the next morning.

Individuals dressed in civilian clothes, who claimed to be members of the joint security forces, told the family of Ram Nath and Shatrughan that the two men had been arrested and killed on the basis of false allegations. According to the families of the victims, some local members of an anti-Maoist vigilante-style group, which included Budhan Shah, Atya Narayan Shah, Jagadish Shah, Ramyatan Yadav, Shatrudhan Yadav, alias “Pujan,” and Jaisi Yadav, had allegedly told the security forces that Ramnath and Shatrughan were Maoists.

On October 1, 2004, security personnel took the five bodies to the SSP office at Janakpur. Villagers visited the SSP office in Janakpur the day after the incident seeking information on the bodies. The police told them that they had carried out post-mortem examinations. The police then forced local villagers to cremate the bodies that same day. The police failed to provide a post-mortem report to the families. Relatives visited the DPO and DAO and verbally made applications for compensation.

On May 13, 2005, the NHRC, on its own initiative, started an investigation, and recommended that the government provide the families with NRs150,000 each as compensation. The victim's families have yet to receive the money.

Official Action: The police filed five FIRs on October 11, 2007. In March 2008, police at the DPO in Dhanusha told Advocacy Forum staff that they had collated all the FIRs registered in connection with the armed conflict, including these five FIRS, and were not acting on them.

Jhapa District

Case 27:

Name: Ramadevi Adhikari

Date of Incident: July 3, 2005
Age: 38
Address: Taghandubba VDC-7, Kalimati, Jhapa District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Captain Yogeshchandra Mahato of Shree Jabarjung NA Battalion of Charali, Jhapa District;
2. Dev Narayan Yadav of APF, stationed at joint security forces camp run by Shree Jabarjung Battalion of Charali, Jhapa District;
3. Three unknown security forces who were deployed on the orders of Suresh Kumar Karki, the commander of the Jabarjung battalion.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At around 5 a.m. on July 3, 2005, a group of five joint security forces, dressed in civilian clothes, came and woke Ramadevi Adhikari and her husband, Devi Prasad. Both husband and wife were arrested. The husband was taken outside, and the wife was taken to the back of the house. The husband heard his wife crying out. Ramadevi was then shot dead near the passage of her house. A little while later, around 50 army personnel came and tried to bury the body at the back of the house. By then, villagers had also gathered and objected to burying her. Security personnel threatened the villagers, saying they should not take the body for a post-mortem examination. A compromise was reached whereby the security forces allowed family members to conduct the funeral as per their rituals, and the family agreed not to take the body for a post-mortem examination. Devi Prasad heard security personnel accusing his wife of providing food to Maoists just before she was shot. Ramadevi’s family members subsequently visited the DPO and the DAO, several times asking them to conduct the necessary investigations. No action was taken against the suspects. The DPO told them that it was a political issue, and they could not take any action on this case.

Official Action: On November 9, 2006 the victim’s family members accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers approached DPO, Jhapa. The authority accepted the FIR and said that they would proceed with the case after consulting the higher authorities. However, the FIR was not registered. As of August 2008 no further action had been taken.

Kavre District

Case 28:

Name: Hari Prasad Bolakhe

Date of Incident:December 27, 2003
Age: 35
Address: Phulbhari VDC-8, Kavre District
Nature of Crime:Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Major Krishna Dhoj Thapa of the Satrumardan Battalion stationed at Dhulikhel;
2. Security forces of Satrumardan Battalion, Dhulikhel, deployed on the spot;
3. Major Baburam Thapa of the Satrumardan Battalion stationed at Panauti;
4. Security forces of Satrumardan Battalion, Panauti branch, deployed on the spot;
5. Police head constable Khadga Bahadur Lama of DPO, Kavre District;
6. Other security officers and security men deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On the morning of December 27, 2003, Hari Prasad Bolakhe had arranged to meet his father, Puspa Prasad, at the Banepa bus park. Around 11 a.m., Hari got off a bus but before he could speak to his father the head police constable, Khadga Bahadur Lama from the Kavre DPO approached him. According to witnesses, Lama told Hari that the deputy superintendent of police wanted to see him, forced Hari into a vehicle, and took him away. Puspa Prasad immediately went to the Kavre DPO to complain about his son’s arrest but officials at the police station denied arresting his son. For months Puspa Prasad was unable to locate his son.

Hari Prasad's name was featured in the third report of the Malegu Committee published by the Home Ministry on October 11, 2004, stating that he was in police custody. On October 12, 2004, Puspa Prasad visited various prisons and army barracks in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, including the detention centre at Sundarijal, but he could not locate Hari. Hari’s father then filed a complaint with the NHRC, which investigated the case and received information that Hari had been killed. An NHRC team, led by members of the NHRC and a forensic pathologist, located and exhumed Hari’s body on July 5, 2006. During the exhumation, his body, ID card, visiting cards, citizenship certificate, a wrist watch, and the clothes he was wearing at the time of the killing were recovered. The remains were tested at the forensic laboratory at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. The forensic report confirmed the body was Hari's. In its report, the NHRC wrote that a “gunfire injury to the pelvis” was the cause of death. As of August 2008 the NHRC had not made any recommendations in the case.

Official Action: The victim’s family approached the DPO in Kavre accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers to register the FIR on October 18, 2006. Police refused, and the CDO was subsequently approached and asked for a few days to study the case. On October 18, 2006, the CDO accepted the case and that same day forwarded it to the DPO with an order to register the FIR and initiate necessary investigations. On November 1, 2006, the victim’s family and Advocacy Forum lawyers visited the DPO to follow up. The police claimed that they were unable to register the case since the complaint was against army personnel senior to them, and they were still working in the same district.

On November 8, 2006, Hari’s father lodged a petition before the Supreme Court to order the DPO in Kavre to register the FIR. The Supreme Court ordered the DPO to register the FIR. The DPO then informed the Supreme Court that the FIR had already been registered on November 7, 2006. On December 8, 2006, the DPO wrote a letter to Police Headquarters and the Bagmati Zonal Police Office, seeking their assistance to identify and bring the alleged perpetrators to the DPO. At this writing, however, the DPO had not received any reply from those authorities.

Case 29:

Name: Reena Rasaili

Date of Incident: February 12, 2004
Age: 18
Address: Pokharichauri VDC-4, Kavre District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing (after rape)

Person to be Questioned: A patrol of NA soldiers led by second lieutenant Saroj Basnet.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At around 11:45 p.m. on February 12, 2004, Reena and her family were woken up by a knock at their door. Ten fully armed men dressed in civilian clothes broke the door down and entered the house claiming to be soldiers from Bhakundebesi. The soldiers beat up Reena’s parents and dragged Reena out of bed, accusing her of being a Maoist. According to her parents, the soldiers dragged Reena to the cowshed and raped her through the night. The family was threatened with dire consequences if they stepped out and tried to help her. At around 5 a.m., Reena came back to the house and asked for a sweater. Her hands were tied behind her back. A group of soldiers then proceeded to take Reena away. The family heard three gunshots at around 5:15 a.m., but did not dare investigate. After a few hours, they went out to look for Reena and found her body lying close to the house. She had been shot in the head, eye, and chest.

Reena’s family went to complain to the DPO and the CDO on February 14, 2004, but neither of them agreed to register the complaint. The family left Reena’s body lying in the same spot for six days hoping for an investigation, but no police officers came to investigate the killing. On March 9, 2004, Reena’s father filed an application with the NHRC appealing for an investigation. The NHRC conducted the investigation and concluded that Reena was illegally killed after the soldiers apprehended her. On June 13, 2005, the NHRC recommended that those responsible be identified and action be taken against them, and that NRs150,000 be paid as compensation. Reena’s family was informed about the NHRC decision on June 14, 2005. To the family’s knowledge, the authorities have not taken any action to implement the NHRC’s recommendations.

Official Action: A FIR was registered on May 25, 2006, in the presence of Advocacy Forum lawyers. The police have not carried out a serious investigation. In a letter to the army brigade, dated June 4, 2006, the DPO demanded that the perpetrators be identified and brought before the Office. Replying to the DPO letter on June 28, 2006, the brigade stated that the squad had been under the command of second lieutenant Saroj Basnet. It is not known whether any action was taken against Basnet by the NA. On October 8, 2007, Karna Bahadur Rasaili, Reena’s father, applied to the Supreme Court for an order against the DPO and the District Public Prosecutor Office in Kavre. The case remains pending in the Supreme Court.

Case 30:

Name: Subhadra Chaulagain

Date of Incident: February 13, 2004
Age: 17
Address: Pokharichauri VDC-3, Kavre District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: A team of Nepalese Army personnel, led by a lieutenant from Number 9 Brigade Office, Bhakundebesi, Kavre District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: At around 3:45 a.m. on February 13, 2004, Subhadra Chaulagain and her family were woken up by the sound of someone knocking urgently on the door of their house. As soon as Subhadra’s mother opened the door, four fully armed soldiers rushed in. One of them punched Subhadra’s father, Kedar Chaulagain, and ordered him to lie on the floor, two others pulled Subhadra by her hair and threw her down on the floor. According to the family, Subhadra pleaded with the soldiers saying that she was not a Maoist. The soldiers ignored her protests and forcibly dragged her outside the house. Subhadra was dragged to her uncle’s house, which was close by, and then again out onto the road where she was asked to stand still. According to the family, one uniformed soldier fired a gun at her, which did not work. He then took a pistol from another soldier and shot at her. Another four or five soldiers started firing at her. The force of the bullets blew Subhadra’s body into a nearby field. The soldiers then turned to Kedar, Subhadra’s father, who had witnessed these events, and started attacking him. The soldiers beat Kedar until he lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he found Subhadra’s body in the field.

The following day, and for many days after the incident, Kedar went to the DPO in Kavrepalanchowk to appeal for investigations and demand punishment for the perpetrators. Officials at the DPO first ignored him, and then threatened to take “further action” against him. Kedar then went to the Chief District Office to complain, but the CDO also did not take any action. Subhadra’s family left her body in the field for 5 days hoping an investigation would begin. On February 29, 2004, Kedar filed an application with the NHRC requesting them to conduct investigations. The NHRC carried out an investigation, and on June 14, 2005 informed Kedar that the case was an extrajudicial execution, and recommended the government identify the suspects, take action against them, and pay NRs150,000 as compensation. To date, the authorities have not acted on the NHRC’s recommendations.

Official Action: A FIR was registered on June 6, 2006. However, the police have not carried out any effective investigation. On October 8, 2007, Kedar Chaulagain, Subhadra’s father, approached the Supreme Court and sought an order against the DPO and the District Public Prosecutor office in Kavre. The case is pending in the Supreme Court.

Case 31:

Name: Maina Sunuwar

Date of Incident: February 19, 2004
Age: 15
Address: Kharelthok VDC-6, Kavre District
Nature of crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Colonel Bobi Khatri of NA Camp, Panchkhal;
2. Captain Amit Pun of NA Camp, Panchkhal;
3. Captain Sunil Adhikari of NA Camp, Panchkhal;
4. Captain Niranjan Basnet of NA Camp, Panchkhal.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 6 a.m. on February 19, 2004, a group of 15 uniformed soldiers arrived at Maina Sunuwar’s house. Security personnel said they were looking for her mother Devi Sunuwar but since Devi was not in the house, they took Maina away in her place. They told Maina’s father, Purna Bahadur, that if he wanted Maina back he should bring her mother, Devi, to Lamidanda Barracks in Kavre. The following day, a group of around 25 people, including the principal of Maina’s school, Purna Bahadur, and one of Maina’s teachers went to the Lamidanda barracks. When they asked about Maina and demanded her release, security forces in the barracks denied having arrested Maina. The group then went to the army barracks at Panchkhal, where officials again denied any involvement in her arrest. Maina’s mother repeatedly visited the District Administration Office and DPO of Kavre, Lamidanda army camp, and Panchkhal army camp, but they all denied the arrest and threatened her instead. At one point, some security forces at Panchkhal army barracks told Maina’s mother that Maina had not “disappeared,” but had been “killed in an anti-terrorist operation.”

In April 2004, Maina’s mother visited the NA Headquarters in Kathmandu where she was told that Maina had been killed and that her clothes and other things had been sent to the police.

Under sustained pressure from the international community, including from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, the army proceeded with an internal inquiry and brought three soldiers allegedly responsible before a court martial on April 21, 2004. According to army records, the accused were only charged with minor offenses of using improper interrogation techniques and not following procedures during the disposal of Maina’s body. They were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, effective from March 14, 2005. Since they had already spent that time confined to barracks during the period of investigation, the officers were set free. According to unconfirmed reports, two of them are no longer serving in the army, while a third is now working in army headquarters.

Official Action: Under pressure from OHCHR-Nepal, the police proceeded with investigations that resulted in Maina’s body, which had been illegally buried at the Panchkal army camp, being exhumed in March 2007. The results of forensic tests confirming that the remains were indeed Maina’s were received from India in July 2008. The DPO Kavre informed the public prosecutor and court accordingly. Since then, the investigations have not made any significant progress.⁹⁹

On January 10, 2007, Devi, with legal support from Advocacy Forum, lodged a writ at the Supreme Court, seeking an order for the DPO and public prosecutor in Kavre to complete the investigation. On January 11, 2007, a preliminary hearing before the Supreme Court resulted in a 15-day “show cause” notice issued against the District Public Prosecutor ‘s Office and the DPO in Kavre. This means that the DPO and Prosecutor’s Office were required to either complete the investigations or inform the court of the reasons why it was not possible to do so within 15 days. The case was made a priority.

On February 1, 2007, the DPO in Kavre submitted its written reply to the Supreme Court stating that it was investigating the case. On February 14, 2007, the District Public Prosecutor Office contacted the Supreme Court with an update on the case. The Office stated that the police would investigate the case and that it would take appropriate action after the investigation had been submitted.

On May 8, 2007, the Supreme Court ordered that the Nepal Army Headquarters produce the original military file concerning the court martial within 7 days. On June 11, 2007, the army headquarters presented documentation regarding the court martial decision to the Supreme Court. Other documents were not provided. Lawyers and the victim's family were denied access to the army documents by the Supreme Court administration. Advocacy Forum challenged this action by lodging an application on June 27, 2007, and on on July 6, 2007, the court ordered the army to cooperate fully with the investigation and to produce all documents that related to the court martial.

On September 18, 2007, a Supreme Court decision ordered the DPO in Kavre to complete the investigation within three months. The DPO in Kavre submitted its investigation report to the District Public Prosecutor’s Office on January 27, 2008. As a result on February 3, 2008, the Kavre Public Prosecutor filed a charge sheet with the Kavre District Court against army officers Bobi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari, Amit Pun, and Niranjan Basnet. The charges included the illegal detention, torture, and killing of Maina. The court also issued summons for the arrest of the four accused. However, as of August 2008 they had not been arrested.

Case 32:

Name: Arjun Bahadur Lama

Date of Incident: April 19, 2005
Age: 48
Address: Chhatrebanjh VDC-5, Dapcha, Kavre District
Nature of Crime: Abduction and extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Maoist member Yadav Poudel alias “Rakki,” from Puranagaun VDC-8, Kavre District;
2. Maoist member Bhola Aryal, from Mathurapati VDC-3, Phulbarai, Kavre District;
3. Maoist cadre Karnakhar Gautam alias “Shyam,” from Pokharichauri VDC-8, Kavre District;
4. Maoist Central Committee Member Agni Sapkota, from Sindhupalchowk, CPN-M Central Office, Buddhanagar, Kathmandu;
5. Suryaman Dong alias “Laldhoj,” the CPN-Maoist district secretary, Kavre District;
6. Maoist member Norbu Moktan, from Mechhe VDC-9, Kavre District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On the afternoon of April 19, 2005, Arjun Bahadur Lama was celebrating his election as president of the Shree Krishna Secondary School at the school’s premises in Chhatrebanjh VDC. During the felicitation ceremony, Maoist cadre Yadav Poudel, alias “Rakki,” Bhola Aryal, and Karnakhar Gautam, alias “Shyam,” stormed into the ceremony and abducted Arjun, claiming that they had some business with him. According to those who witnessed subsequent events, Maoists marched him through various villages in Kavre District. Arjun’s wife filed a complaint with the NHRC on May 3, 2005. In late June 2005, several witnesses told the family how Maoist cadres took Arjun to Buddhakani VDC, where they killed him. Arjun’s wife made several requests to the CPN-M for information about her husband.

Finally, on December 17, 2005, Suryaman Dong, the CPN-M district secretary, stated at a press conference that Arjun Bahadur Lama was forcibly taken away by Norbu Moktan (a central committee member of the Tamang Liberation Front, which was affiliated with the CPN-M), and a platoon commander of Bashusmriti Brigade (who was present at the killing, but according to Maoist sources not involved in the killing). Suryaman stated that when they were in Ghartichhap, the NA launched an aerial attack during which Arjun was killed. After hearing Suryman at the press conference, Arjun’s wife made another application to the NHRC asking them to recover Arjun’s body.

The NHRC conducted a scene inspection, and concluded that Arjun had not been killed during an army attack, but that he had been detained and killed. His body has not yet been recovered.

Official Action: Advocacy Forum supported the family in filing a FIR on June 28, 2007, but the police in Kavre refused to register it fearing reprisals from the Maoists. Advocacy Forum approached the CDO but he also refused to register the case. As a result, a writ was filed in the Supreme Court on July 16, 2007, requesting a court order for the police to register the FIR, start impartial investigations, and seek prosecution. On March 10, 2008, the Supreme Court ordered the Kavre police to register a murder case against the five Maoist members and Maoist Central Committee member, Agni Sapkota. As a result, on August 11, 2008, the Kavre police finally registered an FIR.

Lamjung District

Case 33 and 34:

Name: Chot Nath Ghimire and Shekhar Nath Ghimire

Date of Incident: February 2, 2002, and February 7, 2002, respectively
Age: 58 and 45, respectively
Address: Ishaneshwor VDC-4, Ratmate Majhpokhari, Lamjung District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Major Khagda Bahadur Ranabhat of Unified Command Base Camp situated at Bhorletar VDC-6, Lamjung District;
2. Jamdar (warrant officer) Rabindra Chemjong of the same Camp.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Between 2000 and 2002, Chot Nath Ghimire was arrested and released by the security forces on a number of occasions under suspicion of being a Maoist supporter. On January 26, 2002, the head of the Bhorletar Unified Command Base Camp asked Chot Nath to present himself at the camp. Chot Nath dutifully went to the camp the same day. He was subsequently asked to report to the camp on a daily basis. He was last known to have gone to the camp on February 2, 2002, but he did not return. Chot Nath’s family members went to the camp seeking to confirm his whereabouts, but the army personnel denied his arrest and detention.

On the morning of February 7, 2002, authorities from the Unified Command Base Camp summoned Shekhar Nath, cousin of Chot Nath, to meet them at the army camp in Bhorletar. Shekhar left for the camp and his family members did not hear from him again. In late 2002, Shekhar’s elder brother-in-law filed a habeas corpus writ petition at the Appellate Court in Pokhara, but the police denied his arrest. A report released by the Disappearance Committee, led by Baman Prasad Neupane, published on July 25, 2006, mentioned that Shekhar Nath’s whereabouts remained unknown.

On September 20, 2006, the same Disappearance Committee, mentioned in its report that “the Committee has received information from the NA Human Rights Cell, in a letter dated April 18, 2006, that Chot Nath was making daily visits to the Bhorletar barracks of the Nepali Army.” Chot Nath’s family intensified their search for him after they received this information. On October 15, 2006, his family filed a habeas corpus writ petition at the Supreme Court.

Several former detainees from Bhorletar army camp also informed the families that they had seen Chot Nath and Shekhar Nath Ghimire at the Bhorletar army camp. On November 3, 2006, after a period of intense searching that had been inspired by a tip from local villagers, the family discovered Chot Nath’s clothes in the jungle at Saura, situated at Hansapur VDC-9. After the recovery of his clothes, Chot Nath’s body was exhumed from the jungle by personnel from the DPO in Kaski on November 4, 2006, in the presence of NHRC officials. No forensic experts were involved. Chot Nath’s body was found approximately 20 meters from the place where another body, that of Shekhar Nath Ghimire, was found. Chot Nath’s family identified his body on the basis of the clothes, a wristwatch, and an artificial tooth recovered from the exhumation. The time of his death could not be established. Shekhar’s family received no information on why, when, or how he was killed.

Official Action: The DPO in Kaski registered a FIR on November 19, 2006. Immediately after the exhumation was carried out, the DPO in Kaski sent the remains to the forensic laboratory of Nepal Police in Kathmandu. As of August 2008 no further development in the case had been reported.

Morang District

Case 35:

Name: Prem Bahadur Susling Magar

Date of Incident: June 29, 2002
Age: 28
Address: Shanishchare Village Development Committee- 7, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: About 50-55 unidentified security personnel of the joint security forces under the command of Nepal Army's Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Prem Bahadur Susling Magar had been affiliated with the CPN-M since 1998, and he used to leave home frequently to work with the party. On May 2, 2002, he left his home early in the morning to attend party activities in the Tandi VDC and Ramitekhola areas of Morang District. Joint security personnel from Aaitabare VDC, Morang District took Prem into custody on June 29, 2002, and killed him on June 30, 2002. No arrest warrant was served. Prem’s family members heard about his killing through Radio Nepal and other FM channels on July 2, 2002. They reached the spot a few days after the incident. Security personnel threatened the locals not to touch the corpse. On the fourth day, as the body started decaying, villagers moved it to a nearby ditch. Prem’s relatives approached the Morang DAO on a number of occasions to complain and seek action against the suspects. The CDO informed them that the office would contact them at a later date. The family was never contacted.

Official Action: On July 6, 2007, the victim's wife, along with lawyers from Advocacy Forum, approached the Morang DPO with a FIR. The police superintendent, Gopal Prasad Bhandari, refused to register the report and also refused to confirm the denial in writing. On July 29, 2007, Prem's wife and Advocacy Forum lawyers visited the CDO with the FIR. The CDO accepted the complaint and informed the victim’s wife that the office would be in contact. As of August 2008 Prem’s wife had not heard back from the CDO and the FIR had not been registered.

Case 36:

Name: Data Ram Timsina

Date of Incident: September 28, 2003
Age: 28
Address: Sanischare VDC-9, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Major Suman Gurung, army officer at Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District;
2. Major Birendra Katuwal, operational commander at Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District;
3. Unidentified army personnel deployed at Biratnagar Airport from Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District;
4. 10-15 police personnel from Morang DPO.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Data Ram Timsina was a school teacher at Shinga Bahini Secondary School, and had been undergoing psychiatric treatment. According to witnesses, on September 28, 2003, officers from the Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters in Itahari (deployed under unified command at Biratnagar Airport) and security personnel deployed from DPO Morang arrested Data Ram. Data Ram’s relatives visited the DPO in Morang and inquired about his whereabouts with the superintendent of police Chopka Sherpa. Sherpa informed them that Data Ram had been taken to the Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters in Itahari on September 29, 2003.

Hari Dangal, a resident of Indrapur VDC in Morang District, later reported meeting Data Ram at the Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters. According to Hari, the two men were together on September 27, 2003, and Data Ram had already suffered severe injuries due to beatings and being dragged along the ground. According to Hari, on October 8, 2003, an army officer ordered that Data Ram along with other detainees be transferred. When Data Ram asked for his clothes, the army official apparently told him that he did not require clothes as he was going to be killed.

The Neupane Committee included Data Ram’s name in a list of 174 people published in mid-2006 as a “disappeared” person whose whereabouts were established. On August 10, 2006, the ICRC in Kathmandu sent a letter to Data Ram’s parents stating that the Nepalese Army's Human Rights Cell had informed the ICRC that Data Ram had been “killed in a security operation at Kerabari VDC-5 in Morang District on October 14, 2003.” No further information was provided. To date, the family has received no information regarding what happened to Data Ram’s body.

Official Action: On June 7, 2007, the victim's family, accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers and representatives of the NHRC and OHCHR-Nepal, visited the Morang DPO to register a FIR. The police superintendent, Gopal Prasad Bhandari, refused to register the complaint on the grounds that Data Ram was killed in a cross-fire incident and no further legal action could be taken. On June 8, 2007, Police Superintendent Bhandari called Advocacy Forum to arrange a visit in connection with the registration of the FIR. When Adovcacy Forum lawyers visited the DPO that same day, Bhandari asked them to visit at a later date. When Advocacy Forum lawyers visited on that later date, they were told that police were still waiting for a response from headquarters.

On June 17, 2007, Advocacy Forum lawyers and the victim's family visited the DAO. Officials there also refused to register the FIR on the grounds that they were “not authorized” to look at the case. Advocacy Forum assisted the victim's family to file a writ in the Biratnagar Appellate Court to order the DPO and the CDO to register the FIR on August 1, 2007. On October 1, 2007, the court quashed the petition claiming that incidents such as the killing of Data Ram would be addressed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or other mechanisms as envisaged in the CPA of November 2006. On March 18, 2008, the victim’s family filed a petition of mandamus at the Supreme Court against the appeal court decision. At this writing, the case was pending in the court. The FIR had yet to be registered.

Cases 37, 38 and 39:

Names: Bishwanath Parajuli, Tom Nath Poudel and Dhan Bahadur Tamang

Date of Incident: September 27, 2004
Age: 29, 29, and 30, respectively
Address: Hasandaha VDC-7 and VDC-8, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Torture and Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Colonel Pradeep Pratap Bom Malla, Divisional Commander of Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari; 2. DIG Krishna Basnet, Regional Police Chief of Eastern Region Police Training Center, Biratnagar;
3. DIG Sanat Kumar Basnet, Chief of the APF, Eastern Regional Office, Pakali, Sunsari;
4. Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, CDO of Morang District Administration Office, also coordinator of the District Security Committee;
5. Some 56 security forces (Unified Command) deployed under the command of Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, whose names and ranks are not known.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Tom Nath Poudel ran a bicycle and radio repair shop from his home. On September 27, 2004, he accompanied his neighbor, Bishwanath Parajuli, to a traditional healer in a neighboring village. On their way back, they met their neighbors Mithu Paswan, Raju Paswan, Tukindra Acharya, and Ramesh Neupane, and all of them walked back together. Eyewitnesses said that around 7:30 p.m. the group came across around 50 armed security personnel on patrol near the Ram Janaki Primary School, at Bhategauda of Hasandaha VDC-8 in Morang District. Earlier that evening, Maoists had forced some local villagers to attend their meeting at Pathari Bazaar of Pathari VDC-1. The armed patrol questioned Tom Nath and his friends, and asked if they were returning from the Maoist program. When Tom Nath denied attending the program, the security personnel arrested him and his friends on the grounds of being Maoists.

Some other villagers were arrested at the same time. All of them were detained overnight in the compound of the school. Bishwanath was beaten up in the compound. Others who were also detained reported that around 4:45 a.m. they heard the sound of gunshots.

Bishwanath’s elder bother, Khyam Raj Parajuli, visited the scene of the incident the next morning and saw that his brother had been shot in the chest and chin. With help from local villagers the brother quickly buried the corpse on the bank of a stream nearby. The father of Tom Nath, Ganesh Prasad Poudel, also visited the scene of the incident the next morning. He saw that his son had gunshot wounds to his chest and left hand. Dhan Bahadur’s relatives found his body later that morning. He had been shot twice. The security personnel forced villagers who had gathered outside of the compound to sign documents. The villagers were not allowed to read the papers. Four others, who had been detained at the school, were taken to the Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters the next day. Family members visited the DPO and the DAO repeatedly after the incident demanding a thorough investigation of the case and prosecution of the offenders.

The three families lodged an application to register a FIR with the DAO on November 1, 2004, but the authorities did not act on it. They also informed the NHRC and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The NHRC investigated the case and found that the victims’ right to life had been violated. On June 16, 2005, the NHRC recommended that the government take action against those responsible and provide NRs150,000 as compensation to the victims' families. The police and public prosecutor did not act on the recommendation to investigate and prosecute. The families did not receive any compensation.

Official Action: The families, accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers, and representatives of other NGOs, NHRC, and OHCHR-Nepal visited the Morang DPO to register three FIRs on June 5, 2007. The police superintendent, Gopal Prasad Bhandari, refused to register the complaint on the grounds that these killings occurred in crossfire and that no further legal action could be taken. On July 6, 2007, the DPO returned the complaint to Advocacy Forum. On July 12, 2007, Advocacy Forum and the victims’ families visited the CDO, but the official also refused to order the registration of the FIR on the grounds that the civil administration was not entitled to look into the case.

Advocacy Forum assisted the family of Dhan Bahadur Tamang to approach to the Biratnagar Appellate Court with a writ seeking an order for the DPO and CDO to register the FIRs on August 5, 2007. On October 10, 2007, the court upheld the writ petition and ordered the DPO and CDO to register the FIR. On September 1, 2008, Dhan Bahadur’s family, accompanied by Advocacy Forum, visited the DPO, Morang to register the FIR as per the Appellate Court Order. However, the police superintendent refused to file the FIR despite the court order. As of September 1, 2008, none of the FIRs have been registered.

Case 40, 41, 42 and 43:

Name: Jag Prasad Rai alias “Narad,” Dhananjaya Giri, Madhuram Gautam alias “Manoj,” and Ratna Bahadur Karki

Date of Incident: December 18, 2004
Age: 34, 41, 34, and 34, respectively
Address: Pathari VDC-4, Pathari VDC-3, Sanischare VDC-7 and Sanischare VDC-1, Morang District, respectively
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: 54 unidentified soldiers under the command of Captain Yuvaraj Karki of Bhawani Dal Battalion deployed from Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: A group of security forces personnel, some of whom posed as Maoists, arrested and killed all four men in separate incidents on the same morning.

On the morning of December 18, 2004, an unidentified man arrived at the house of Narad’s in-laws and asked Narad to go with him. Narad left with the unidentified man. According to witnesses, at around 10:45 a.m., 54 security personnel patrolling the area detained Narad at Mayalu Chowk on the border between Ward Number 3 and 4 of Pathari VDC, and instantly shot him dead.

That same day, Dhananjaya left his house at around 6 a.m. to visit his neighbors. At around 10:30 a.m on his way back home, unidentified persons claiming to be Maoists being chased by an army squad stopped him and were seen talking to Dhananjaya. After that, they let him go. Later in the afternoon, that same group of unidentified persons was seen joining an army team advancing to Dhananjaya’s locality from the southern direction. After about half an hour, a team of security personnel from Pathari reached Dhananjaya’s home, arrested him and then killed him.

Also on December 18, 2004, Madhuram left home in the morning along with Prakash Timishina, a resident of Pathari VDC. According to witnesses, later that morning, while Madhuram was walking near Mayalu Chowk, army personnel deployed from Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters in Itahari seized him and shot him dead on the spot.

Ratna Bahadur Karki had returned home after finishing work in Malaysia in October 2004. Around 8 a.m. on December 18, 2004, he left his house to do some grinding work at a local rice mill. Around 10 a.m. on his way back home, some unidentified persons stopped him on the way and claimed they were Maoists. The individuals told Ratna that an army squad was following them. They had a brief conversation during which the unidentified persons reportedly asked Ratna to help them find the homes of local Maoist activists so that they could seek shelter with them. Later, the unidentified persons joined an army team advancing towards the locality from the southern direction. Another team of security personnel reached the area 30 minutes later, took Ratna under control, and killed him on the spot. The security personnel forced villagers to sign documents which said that Dhananjaya, Ratna Bahadur Karki, Madhuram Gautam, and Narad Rai, were killed when they tried to escape from army custody.

On December 19, 2004, the families received notice about the four bodies through the Area Police Office in Urlabari, Morang District. Narad’s body showed signs of being beaten, and he had been shot in the right temple, right hip, and back. Dhananjaya had been beaten, and shot six times in various parts of his body. A golden ring worth NRs9,600, which Dhananjaya was wearing, was missing. Madhuram’s showed signs of being beaten and he had been shot five times in various parts of his body, including twice in the head. No autopsy was done on his body. Prior to the killing, security forces had also searched Madhuram’s house, taking NRs22,000 and Madhuram’s citizenship documents. Ratna’s Seiko wrist-watch, some Malaysian currency and NRs5,000, and his bicycle were missing.

The relatives of all four men made verbal complaints at the Morang DAO several times but their complaints were not accepted. Police refused to register their complaint claiming the case was a “political issue.” The families also visited the CDO time and again, complaining about the case. No action was taken by the CDO. They also complained to the NHRC. At this writing the NHRC was investigating the cases.

Official Action: On June 5, 2007, the victims’ families, accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers and representatives of NHRC and OHCHR-Nepal, visited the Morang DPO to register the FIR. The police superintendent, Gopal Prasad Bhandari, refused to register the complaint, arguing that the killings happened in crossfire and that no further legal action could be taken. On July 6, 2007, the DPO returned the complaint to Advocacy Forum. On July 12, 2007, the victims’ families visited the CDO. He refused to order the registration of the case on the grounds that civilian authorities were not entitled to investigate such incidents and that these incidents would be investigated by the TRC.

On August 5, 2007, Advocacy Forum assisted the victims’ families to seek a writ from the Biratnagar Appellate Court ordering the DPO and CDO to register the FIR. Except in the case of Madhuram Gautam, on October 1, 2007, the court quashed the writ petitions agreeing with the police’s argument that such killings would be addressed by the TRC. Advocacy Forum filed a writ petition of mandamus before the Supreme Court on behalf of Dhananjaya Giri on March 31, 2008, challenging the appellate court decision.

On September 1, 2008, Madhuram’s family accompanied by Advocacy Forum visited the DPO, Morang to file a FIR as per the order of the Appellate Court. However the superintendent of police, Yogendra Katuwal, refused to file the FIR despite court order.

Case 44:

Name: Chandra Bahadur Basnet alias “Manoj Basnet”

Date of Incident: August 24, 2005
Age: 28
Address: Sijuwa VDC-4, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: Armed Police Force Inspector Nardip Basnet and 12 other unidentified police personnel under his command deployed from the APF unit stationed at the prison at Biratnagar, Sub-Metropolis-11, Morang District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Manoj was a peon (petty clerk) working with Sijuwa VDC office in Morang District. On August 24, 2005, he left home to travel to the Morang District Development Committee office in Biratnagar to finish some work for the VDC. According to witnesses, a group of armed police arrested Manoj and some friends at the Dhankute Hotel and Lodge near the Biratnagar bus park. According to witnesses, the others were immediately released, but police took Manoj in a vehicle (registration KO 1 CHA 4544), blindfolded him, and drove away.

The following morning, Manoj’s neighbors received a phone call from Morang DPO stating that he had been killed in Biratnagar “while he was trying to run away from a security cordon.” That day Manoj’s family and neighbors received his body in Biratnagar. Manoj was wearing a golden ring and a chain, and was carrying NRs2,300 when he left home, all of which were missing. A post-mortem investigation conducted at Koshi Zonal Hospital in Biratnagar revealed that Manoj had been killed as a result of two gunshot wounds to the chest and neck.

The NHRC investigated the killing, and on February 17, 2006, recommended that the government provide NRs100,000 to Manoj's family and conduct further investigations to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice. The NHRC wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister on March 23, 2006, requesting implementation of its recommendations. The APF also claimed to have initiated disciplinary action against Nardip Basnet who was the commander of the APF unit allegedly involved in the incident but it has not been possible to confirm what exactly this action consisted of beyond a transfer out of the area.

Official Action: A few days after the killing, Manoj’s family went to the DPO with lawyers from Advocacy Forum to register a FIR, but the police officers did not file the report. The family then sent the complaint by post to the DPO. Police registered the FIR on August 30, 2005, on behalf of the victim’s father, Govinda Bahadur Basnet, at DPO in Morang against Police Inspector Nardip Basnet and 12 other police personnel who were allegedly involved in the killing of Manoj. Initially, the police did not start any investigations. Due to the intervention of OHCHR-Nepal, police reluctantly took statements from some witnesses, interviewed the suspects, and referred the case to the public prosecutor on September 20, 2006. The police asked the father to sign a new FIR but did not allow him to read it. Later in court, when the family had an opportunity to access the file, they realized police had in the new FIR presented the killing as an accident, something the father did not believe.

On September 22, 2006, the Morang District Court delivered its verdict in the case stating that the accused was innocent as the victim had been killed by APF fire while he tried to escape from the security forces. The court decision refers to the killing as accidental.

On May 10, 2007, Govinda Basnet appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision of the Morang District Court by filing a petition to quash the investigation and order the police to re-investigate the case and prosecute Nardip Basnet on charges of homicide. After that, a number of local politicians repeatedly suggested that Govinda withdraw the case. Police reportedly offered Manoj’s widow a job in the police, and to send her two children to a boarding school in return for dropping the case. Police also reportedly offered Govinda NRs250,000, brought him to Kathmandu, and pressured him to file a petition withdrawing the writ petition stating that he had not intended it and had been coerced by Advocacy Forum. Under this pressure, on November 30, 2007, Govinda asked the court to withdraw the case. On the same day the Supreme Court decided to put the case on hold. As of August 2008, the court had not yet ruled on the actual request to withdraw the case.

Case 45 and 46:

Name: Purna Shrestha and Bidur Bhattarai

Date of Incident: October 15, 2005
Age: 33 and 27, respectively
Address: Indrapur VDC-6 and Pathari VDC-5, Morang District, respectively
Nature of Crime: Torture and Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: About 56 unidentified security forces personnel under the command of Major Sunil Shrestha at the Nepal Army’s Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: In the early morning of October 15, 2005, the NA killed Durga Raj Rai of Limbu Chowk, Belbari VDC. Army personnel seized Durga’s mobile phone and found Purna Shrestha’s and Bidur Bhattarai’s mobile numbers from the phone. According to witnesses, soldiers called Purna and Bidur pretended to be Durga Raj and asked them to come to Belbari immediately. Purna Shrestha and Bidhur Bhattarai immediately left for Belbari with Mohan Khanal. Upon their arrival, security forces arrested all three men. Army personnel tortured them and then shot all three of them at around 9:30 a.m. on October 15, 2005.

The army personnel took the dead bodies to the area police office in Belbari. Family members were informed that they had been killed during an army operation. The families then went to Belbari area police office on October 16, 2005, to claim the dead bodies.

Post-mortem examinations of the two bodies were held at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Science in Dharan. Purna Shrestha’s body had injuries in the mid upper abdomen, chest, forehead, and back of the head. According to the family and other villagers who saw the corpse, the wounds looked like they were due to beatings with gun butts, not bullets. It is not known what Purna’s post-mortem examination concluded.

Bidur’s post-mortem report said that he had sustained single bullet wounds to his mid-upper abdomen and flanks and three to his chest, that both his eyes were pierced and damaged with a sharp weapon, and that there were large wounds on his forehead.

After the post-morterm, family members received a letter from the area police office in Belbari stating that the two men were killed in crossfire by the NA. The dead bodies were cremated by the family members.

On July 19, 2007, the NHRC wrote to the government recommending a sum of NRs150,000 to be provided to the families of Purna and Bidur as compensation. The Commission also recommended further investigations to identify and bring the perpetrators involved to justice. The NHRC recommendation had not yet been implemented at this writing.

Official Action: On June 5, 2007, the victims’ families, accompanied by Advocacy Forum lawyers and representatives of NHRC and OHCHR-Nepal, visited the Morang DPO to register the FIR. Superintendent Gopal Prasad Bhandari refused to register the complaint on the grounds that the victims were killed in a cross-fire and no further legal action could be taken. On July 6, 2007, the DPO returned the complaint to Advocacy Forum. On July 12, 2007, the victims’ families and Advocacy Forum lawyers visited the CDO. He also refused to order the registration of the FIR on the ground that the civil authorities were not empowered to look at the cases. On August 1, 2007, Advocacy Forum assisted the family members to lodge a writ with the Biratnagar Appellate Court to order the DPO and CDO to register the FIR.

On October 1, 2007, the court quashed Bidur’s petition on the basis that incidents like this would be investigated by a mechanism to be established under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 2006. Advocacy Forum filed a writ petiton of mandamus at the Supreme Court on behalf of Bidur Bhattarai on March 31, 2008 challenging the Appellate Court decision. As of August 2008, the case is pending in the court. The Appellate Court, however, upheld Purna Shrestha’s petition and Purna’s family once again approached DPO Morang on September 1, 2008 to file a FIR. Despite the Appellate Court’s order, superintendent of police Yogendra Katuwal refused to file the FIR.

Case 47:

Name: Sapana Gurung

Date of Incident: April 25, 2006
Age: 22
Address: Belbari VDC-3, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Rape and murder

Persons to be Questioned: 15 unidentified security personnel under the command of army Captain Prahlad Thapa Magar deployed from the security base camp at the area police office, Belbari VDC-3, Morang District.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 8:30 p.m. on April 25, 2006, 15 security personnel under the command of army captain Prahlad Thapa Magar went to the home of Sapana Gurung. Three security men entered Sapana’s room and dragged her out, covering her mouth with their hands. The security personnel then took her to the nearby Nepal Telecommunications Office and raped her. There were no witnesses to the rape. At around 9:25 p.m., villagers heard a gunshot and Sapana was later found dead. According to villagers, Sapana’s body was taken to the army camp after she was killed. The medical report from B.P. Koirala Memorial Institute of Health Science in Dharan said that she had been shot dead after being raped. Sapana’s rape and killing caused a furor in the village and when a public disturbance broke out against the incident the security forces opened fire, killing six people and injuring dozens (see below).

Official Action: Police registered a FIR on May 15, 2006, but police argued that they could not initiate criminal investigations until a Parliamentary Probe Committee had issued its report and they received authorization from the government. The Parliamentary Probe Committee concluded its investigations and reported to the Parliament on January 12, 2008. The Committee recommended that Prahlad Thapa Magar and two soldiers named Bir Bahadur Mahara and Nirmal Kumar Panta should be taken into custody, and a criminal investigation be initiated into the rape and killing. The Committee also recommended “departmental action” according to the Army Act, and that NRs1 million be paid as compensation to Sapana’s family. Prior to the Parliamentary Probe Committee’s report, the government had already provided NRs300,000 compensation to the family. As of August 2008 these soldiers had not been arrested.

Cases 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53:

Name: Chhatra Bahadur Pariyar, Phurwa Sherpa, Prabhunath Bhattarai, Prasad Gurung alias “Prasant, ” Tanka Lal Chaudhari, and Sunita Risidev

Date of Incident: April 26, 2006
Age: 35, 18, 34, 18, 32, and 17, respectively
Address: Indrapur VDC-2 and VDC-3; Mrigauliya VDC-8 and Belbari VDC-3, Morang District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Captain Prahlad Thapa Magar of Unified Command situated at Area Police Office, Belbari, Belbari VDC-3, Morang District;
2. Unknown security forces deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 2:30 p.m. on April 26, 2006, a joint command of security forces, led by Captain Prahlad Thapa, opened fire indiscriminately on demonstrators. The incident took place in front of the area police office in Belbari during a spontaneous demonstration by villagers, who were demanding compensation for the family of Sapana Gurung, and legal action against those responsible for raping and killing her (see Case 48). According to a Parliamentary Probe Committee’s findings, 21 security personnel opened fire, and a total of 131 shots were fired. More than a hundred security officials were deployed in the area, and the firing resulted in the death of six persons. Chhatra Bahadur Pariyar, Phurwa Sherpa, Prabhunath Bhattarai, Prasad Gurung, Tanka Lal Chaudhuri, and Sunita Risidev all died on the spot. Army personnel claimed that Maoists had infiltrated the demonstration, and started shooting at the security forces, but no evidence was found by the Committee to substantiate that claim.

Official Action: Family members approached the DPO Morang on May 28, 2006 to register an FIR demanding an investigation into the case and to provide justice. The police refused to register the cases and suggested the families go to the area police office in Belbari to register the complaints.

The Belbari area police office filed six separate FIRs on May 31, 2006. As in Sapana’s case, police argued that they could not initiate criminal investigations until the Parliamentary Probe Committee had issued its report and they had received authorization from the government. When it concluded its investigations and reported to the Parliament on January 12, 2008, the Committee recommended action against 28 security personnel and against the CDO (under the Civil Service Act, 1992). The Committee also recommended departmental action against the brigadier general commanding in the district and the superintendent of police of the district for failing to protect lives and properties of the local people. Those named include Brig Gen Om Bahadur Pun, head of Dhankuta Brigade; Pawan Bahadur Pandey, head of Bishnu battalion; Raju Tamang, chief of Belbari Police Post and Captain Pralhad Thapa Magar. The committee also recommended that the government provide NRs1 million each to the families of those killed, NRs600,000 each to victims who are physically impaired, NRs75,000 for those who sustained bullet injuries, and NRs25,000 for those sustaining minor injuries. Prior to the Parliamentary Probe Committee’s report, the government had already provided NRs 300,000 to the families of those who were killed, NRs150,000 to those who were seriously injured and disabled, and NRs 25,000 and NRs10,000 to those who sustained serious injuries and minor injuries.

Myagdi District

Case 54:

Name: Khagendra Buddhathoki

Date of Incident: January 6, 2002
Age: 31
Address: Aman VDC-6, Pok (Satghare), Myagdi District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Lieutenant Colonel Raju Nepali, commander of Kaliprasad battalion, Beni barracks;
2. Soldiers of Kaliprasad battalion who had gone to the temporary camp of Darwang Dukhu.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On January 6, 2002, a team of patrolling soldiers arrested Khagendra Buddhathoki on the Tatopani Jalkuni Bridge. Villagers saw the soldiers take Khagendra to a temporary army camp at Darwang Dukhu at Alkachaur. According to locals and family members, at that camp around 9 a.m. the following day Khagendra was shot dead. On January 8, 2002, Radio Nepal announced that a Maoist terrorist named Khagendra Buddhathoki had been killed in a security operation on January 7, 2002. Family members visited the DPO demanding an investigation of the killing. No action was taken by police.

On January 25, 2002 after the battalion moved from its temporary camp, Khangendra’s family, with the help of other villagers, started digging at the location of the temporary camp and found the body of Khagendra Buddhatoki buried in the compound. The family briefly observed a religious ceremony. The same day, Khagendra’s father submitted a FIR at both the DPO on January 25, 2002, and at the DAO on January 26, 2002 demanding action against those responsible and compensation for the family. Police told the family that they would investigate the case, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide compensatation. At this writing nothing had been done on any of these points. The NHRC, on a suo moto basis (i.e., without having received a complaint), was considering the case. It requested the authorities for a copy of the post-mortem report. As of August 2008, the NHRC had not yet reached a conclusion.

Official Action: Police filed a FIR on April 12, 2007. No further action was reported on the FIR through early August 2008.

Case 55:

Name: Chandra Bahadur B.K.

Date of Incident: January 8, 2003
Age: 17
Address: Kasebagar, Arman VDC-6, Myagdi District
Nature of Crime: Possible torture and Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Lt. Colonel Raju Nepali, commander of the Kaliprasad battalion, Beni Barracks;
2. NA personnel of Kaliprasad battalion.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: On the morning of January 8, 2003, a group of armed NA soldiers from the Kaliprasad Battalion arrested Chandra Bahadur B.K. at his home on suspicion of being a Maoist. No arrest warrant was served at the time of the arrest. The soldiers were staying in a temporary camp set up at Kasebegar of Arman VDC-6. Following his arrest, soldiers beat Chandra Bahadur with gun butts and punched and kicked him before taking him to the temporary camp. Chandra’s father, Karna Bahadur B.K. and his mother, Shasikala, witnessed the beating. Chandra’s mother followed the army personnel to the barracks seeking her son’s release, but her requests were turned down.

The family went to the DPO and DAO in Myagdi the day after Chandra was arrested, but both refused to register their complaints regarding his illegal arrest and detention. On January 11, 2003, the state-owned Radio Nepal broadcasted information that Chandra was a Maoist, and security forces killed him in an encounter in Pairokhoriya of Baranja VDC-6, Baglung District.

On hearing the announcement of his death on radio, the family went back to the police and asked for the killing to be investigated. Family members visited the DPO and CDO on January 12, 2003, to complain about the incident and ensure they could collect his body from the army camp. Then CDO assured them that he would initiate necessary action and asked them to cremate the body. Following his assurance, they briefly observed the last religious rituals for the body. Chandra was buried within the camp premises. His body has not been exhumed. The CDO’s assurance did not lead to action, and the family heard nothing further about the investigation.

The NHRC has recently initiated an investigation into this case.

Official Action: Baglung DPO filed a FIR filed on April 12, 2007, with the support of NGOs. At this writing, police had not yet initiated an investigation.

Palpa District

Case 56, 57 and 58:

Names: Dal Bahadur Darlami, Narayan Prasad Kanauje, and Tek Bahadur Gaha

Date of Incident: March 22, 2005
Age: 15, 16, and 15, respectively
Address: Khannichap VDC-8, Mahachhap, Palpa District
Nature of Crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:

1. Major Rabindra K.C., commander of Ranbum Company, Tansen, Palpa District;
2. Soldiers who were deployed on the spot.

Summary of Testimony from FIR: Around 8:30 p.m. on March 22, 2005, three army vehicles coming from the direction of Aryabhanjayang in Palpa stopped at a place called Dhaireni of Chidipani VDC-1. Along the highway, some school children were stopping vehicles to collect money for Holi festival celebrations the following day. According to eye-witnesses, 25-30 soldiers got out of their vehicles at Dhaireni and, without conducting any inquiries, started firing indiscriminately. Three school children, namely Dal Bahadur, Narayan Prasad, and Tek Bahadur Gaha, died on the spot.

The next morning a police squad from the DPO Palpa took the dead bodies to Palpa District Hospital, Tansen, for a post-mortem examination. On March 24, 2005, the DPO handed the bodies back to their respective families who conducted the last religious ceremonies. The DPO failed to provide the post-mortem report to the families. Members from the three families tried to file FIRs at the DPO in Palpa, but the police did not register their case. Instead, it later transpired that police suo moto filed a case presenting the killings as accidental. The District Security Committee (DSC) in Palpa gave each family NRs100,000 as assistance to observe the final religious ceremonies. The DSC obtained the families’ signatures on letters reportedly acknowledging that the soldiers had acted irresponsibly and had killed the children, but no copies of the letters were provided to the families.

Official Action: On November 30, 2006, the families, Advocacy Forum lawyers, and representatives of Peace Brigade International approached the DPO Palpa to register three FIRs demanding a criminal investigation. The police office refused to register the FIR on the grounds that it was a political case and civil authorities were not entitled to deal with it. The same team visited the CDO the same day. At first, the CDO was reluctant to order the registration of the FIRs, but he forwarded the FIRs to the DPO on the same day. After a heated debate lasting several hours, the police agreed to register the FIRs.

On December 24, 2006, Advocacy Forum lawyers visited the DPO to follow up the complaints. Deputy Superintendent of police, Bhim Prasad Dhakal, stated that, contrary to previous information, the police had not registered the families’ FIRs but that it was continuing investigations based on a separate FIR filed by the police itself. On March 22, 2007, assistant police inspector, Bom Bahadur Kumal, working at Palpa DPO, produced a report before the District Public Prosecutor’s Office stating that the boys were killed in an accident. In another visit by Advocacy Forum on March 23, 2007, the DPO confirmed that police had finally formally registered the families’ FIRs on December 31, 2006, and that a preliminary report based on the families’ FIRs was sent to the district public prosecutor on January 1, 2007.

On January 8, 2007, the District Public Prosecutor’s Office directed the DPO to proceed with investigations as a murder case. The DPO verbally informed Advocacy Forum that they had asked the Palpa District Hospital for copies of the post-mortem reports. No other progress had been reported as of August 2008.

Surkhet District

Case 59:

Name: Man Bahadur Karki

Date of Incident: June 10, 2006
Age: 35
Address: Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District
Nature of Crime: Torture and extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Kul Bahadur Sijali, resident of Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District;
2. Jit Bahadur Sijali, resident of Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District;
3. Ratan Bahadur Gautam, resident of Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District;
4. Meghraj Gautam, resident of Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District;
5. Yam Bahadur Gharti, resident of Lekhgaun VDC-4, Surkhet District;
6. Maoist member Lal Bahadur Ramjali alias “Lokesh, ” resident of Lagam, Betan, Surkhet District;
7. Maoist member Dilip, resident of Kunathari VDC-3 or 4, Surkhet District.

Summary of testimony from FIR: According to witnesses, around 5 a.m. on June 10, 2006, two Maoists, named Dilip and Lokesh, abducted Man Bahadur from his house. The following day, Man’s body was found hanging outside the house of another local, Ratan Bahadur Gautam, at Lekhagaun VDC-4 in Dhanigandh. A local Maoist told Man’s family that he had committed suicide. The family refused to take possession of the body as they were not convinced that Man had committed suicide. They claimed that Man had been killed after he was abducted and that the case needed further investigation.

Maoist member Bipin, who was a resident of Bidhyapur VDC in the district, forced Man’s family to take the body and conduct his funeral on June 12, 2006. Reports in the local media and information from two witnesses suggested that Kul Bahadur had conspired to abduct and kill Man since he had a long-standing feud with Man and his father about a piece of land. According to a local villager, this feud provoked the perpetrators to kill Man. According to family members, four local villagers named Kul Bahadur Sijali, Ratan Bahadur Gautam, Meghraj Gautam, and Yam Bahadur Gharti were involved in beating and killing Man. After beating him to death, the perpetrators hung his body in an attempt to give the impression that he had committed suicide. There were wounds on different parts of his body, including on his testicles.

Official Action: Man’s relatives approached the DPO to register a FIR on September 11, 2006 but the DPO refused to register it. The NHRC was also informed about this incident, but had not yet concluded its investigations at this writing. Maoists also threatened the family not to file a case. As of August 2008, the FIR had not been registered and no further action had been taken by police.

Tanahun District

Case 60 and 61:

Name: Ganga Bahadur Nepali and Shyam Sundar Kaini alias “Bharat”

Date of incident: April 29, 2002
Age: Both 39
Address: Ghansikuwa VDC-3 and Byas Municipality-3, Tanahun District
Nature of crime: Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned:
1. Major Baburam Shrestha employed by No. 3 Battalion of the NA situated at Chapaghat, Byas Municipality, Tanahun District;
2. Jamdar Damodar Adhikari working at the army installation at Chapaghat, Byas Municipality, Tanahun District.

Summary of testimony from FIR: On April 29, 2002, Ganga Bahadur Nepali, a village level political activist affiliated with the CPN-UML, was arrested from his home and taken to army barracks. Army personnel took Ganga away as soon as he arrived home from hospital with his sick son. His wife was told that he would be safe and sent back home soon.

That same day around 10 p.m., army personnel abducted Bharat from his home. Bharat’s wife witnessed his abduction and tried to resist but soldiers manhandled her and told her that he would return home safely.

According to members of both families, security personnel killed the two victims early in the morning the next day. News broadcast on the state-owned Radio Nepal the next morning reported that security forces had killed Ganga Bahadur Nepali and Shyam Sundar Kaini (Bharat) as they were planning to ambush security forces at Ghasikuwa VDC-8, Bangesimal, Tanahun District.

The day after the men were killed, the families and Pratap Lal Shrestha, CPN-UML secretary of Tanahun District Committee, requested Army Major Baburam Shrestha to hand over the bodies to the families. However, Major Shrestha stated he could not hand over the bodies of “terrorists.” Major Shrestha handed over the bodies to the families only after he received a phone call from Madhav Kumar Nepal, the CPN-UML general secretary, who had come to Damauli to address a mass meeting. Pratap Lal Shrestha confirmed in a written statement that he received information from army personnel at the barracks that soldiers under the command of Jamdar Damodar Prasad Adhikari had arrested the two men and shot them dead.

Official action: The police registered two FIRs on April 6, 2007. Police had not initiated an investigation at this writing. When Advocacy Forum contacted DPO, Tanahun, on June 29, 2008, one of the police officers said that police had taken statements from some of the witnesseses named in the FIR, and had also contacted the concerned authorities regarding the post-mortem report. No further developments have been reported since.

Udayapur District

Case 62:

Name: Dhan Kumari Tumbahamphe

Date of Incident: April 24, 2005
Age: 24
Address: Barahchhetra VDC-1, Sunsari District
Nature of Crime: Rape and Extrajudicial killing

Persons to be Questioned: Approximately 250 unidentified security personnel deployed from:

1. No. 18 Division of NA, Bhulke, Udayapur District;
2. Ranabhim Battalion security base camp, Phattepur, Saptari District;
3. Dantakali Batallion of APF at Barmajhiya, Saptari District, under the command of NA Eastern Divisional Army Headquarters, Itahari, Sunsari District.

Summary of testimony from FIR: On April 24, 2005, Dhan Kumari and her friend Roman Rai were staying in Mainamaini village, Udayapur District. They heard that soldiers had cordoned off the village, and according to witnesses, both of them tried to run away from the village. Dhan Kumari could not escape, and was arrested around 5 p.m. at Sombare Chowk. The soldiers also seized some CPN-M party documents from her bag. The soldiers then marched her around Mainamaini VDC and later kept her at a local house in Mainamaini VDC-9 of the district. According to witnesses, at around 1 a.m. the following morning, soldiers marched her out of the house towards a hill and raped and killed her.

The soldiers buried the body at the same hill where they raped and killed her. Local villagers informed Dhan’s family. The family exhumed the body and performed a religious ceremony. When her body was recovered, there were signs of bullet injuries on her temple and neck, and her left breast had been cut off. There were also signs on the body suggesting she may have been raped. No medical examination was conducted to establish rape.

Dhan’s brother-in-law, Chakra Bahadur Tumbahamphey, tried to file a FIR on April 26, 2005, but the DPO in Udayapur refused to register the case. On May 30, 2005, Chakra Bahadur submitted a file containing information about the incident to the NHRC. The case is still under investigation by the NHRC.

Official Action: On September 22, 2006, Advocacy Forum approached DPO Udayapur to register the FIR. However Deputy police superintendent Mohan Bahadur Khadka said he wanted to consult higher police authorities before filing the FIR. In September 24, 2006, the DPO informed the families that the case was registered in the ‘General Diary’. The victim’s family visited the District Administration Office in October 2007 requesting registration in Diary No. 10, the normal register for FIRs of this nature. However, the district authorities refused to register the FIR properly. The family then moved the Appeal Court, Rajbiraj, on January 15, 2008 seeking an order to register the FIR. The Appeal Court ordered the DPO, Udayapur, to register the FIR on August 18, 2008. As of late August 2008, the FIR had not yet been registered.