Probe committee begins investigation on Rukum incident

JAJARKOT, May 29: A high-level committee formed to investigate into the Soti incident in Rukum (West) which ended with the brutal killing of five (confirmed to date) and missing of one has begun its works.

According to Jajarkot Chief District Officer Janak Raj Panta, the five-member probe committee under the coordination of Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary Jitendra Basnet today met with the families of the victims.

Similarly, the committee reached the District Health Service Office to take stock of the state of lifeless body of Sanjib BK aka Sanju, one of the victims, of Bheri municipality-4.

Bodies of Nabaraj BK, 21, Sanju BK and Ganesh BK of Bheri municipality, Jajarkot, Lokendra Sunar of Bheri municipality-11 and Tikaram Sunar of Chaurjahari, Rukum were retrieved from different locations of the Bheri River while Govinda Shahi of Bheri municipality-11 is still missing since the incident on May 23.

District-based Dalit rights activists’ association and other related organisations have submitted a six-point memorandum to the Committee, demanding a fair investigation into the matter. Receiving the memo, committee coordinator Basnet pledged to fulfill the government mandate and bring facts surrounding the incident through fair investigations within the given time, according to district-based rights activist Parbati BK. According to committee coordinator Basnet, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and Forest Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet have extended their tributes to the deceased persons. The committee comprises Senior Superintendent of Police Janak Bhattarai, National Investigation Department’s Joint Investigation Director Om Bahadur Khadka, Under -Secretaries Bashita Ghimire and Madhav Dhakal. The incident had occurred at Chaurjahari-8 in neighbuoring district Rukum (West) over the issue of inter-caste marriage. RSS