Dahal says, Bandarmude attack a grave mistake from Maoists

CHITWAN, Nov 5: The CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday said Bandarmude attack was a grave mistake committed by the Maoist during the 10-year insurgency. He also said he then directed action against the guilty in the incident, and the culpable have already been punished.

He was inaugurating the Diwakar-Tirtha Kumar Bhusal Memorial Free Volleyball Competition in Chitwan. Madi lies in within the locality of Chitwan constituency-3, where Dahal has registered his nomination for the House of Representatives elections.

Dahal further said that the next government would address the demands of the Bandarmude victims.

At least 38 people were killed, and 75 others injured when the then Maoist rebels ambushed an overcrowded bus in Bandarmude in Madi, Chitwan, on June 6, 2005.

Dahal had started his full-time politics from Madi. This is the second time that Dahal reached Madi in particular ahead of the polls after February 28, 2013 when he got there to inaugurate the Madi festival. He then had announced to provide a lump sum of Rs 6 million to each victim’s family.

Anyone found guilty of the incident by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons would face action, he said, while admitting that some of the victims are yet to get justice due to the issue of an amendment to the commissions’ acts.

He also said the next government would build overhead bridge or a tunnel way for the locals to travel through the Chitwan National Park, saying the locals are facing problems due to the park.

Likewise on the occasion, CPN-UML standing committee member Surendra Prasad Pandey expressed hope that the next government would become stable, and bring prosperity to the country. Other speakers like the Maoist Centre leader Amik Sherchan also spoke at the event.