CHITWAN: Police got a 10 day remand custody of Ram Prasad Adhikari for investigating the accused’s involvement in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari.

The Chitwan district court extended the custody of the police on Sunday morning though Ram Prasad was arrested on Friday evening in Kathmandu.

The investigation into the murder of Krishna Prasad was halted seven years ago, but the government had reopened the case following National Human Rights Commission’s directives to that effect.

The government had come under huge pressure after slain Krishna Prasad’s parents Nanda Prasad and Ganga Maya continued their fast unto death for more than 40 days in Kathmandu.

Adhikari Couple break hunger strike

Meanwhile the couple gave up their hunger strike on Saturday following a three point agreement with the government.
THE CASE:

Ram Prasad Adhikari was murdered in Chitwan in 2004 by the Maoist cadres/militia near Bakulahar chowk in Ratna Nagar municipality.
An FIR was filed at the district police office by the deceased’s brother Noor Prasad in December 2005 by accusing Januka Poudel, Chhabilal Poudel, Bhimsen Poudel, Parashuram Poudel, Bishnu Tiwari, Kali Prasad Adhikari, Sita Adhikari and Ram Prasad Adhikari of killing and slaying his brother out of personal and family animosity.

The deceased Krishna Prasad Adhikari and the accused Ram Prasad Adhikari are cousins – sons of brothers- Nand Prasad and Kali Prasad.

Ram Prasad is son of Kali Prasad- elder brother of Nand Prasad.

KATHMANDU: The UCPN Maoist called bandy in Kathmandu, Chitwan and Gorkha trailed out after general public defied the call.

The party had called the bandh today from 8 to protest the arrest of their party cadre- Ram Prasad Adhikari for the 2004 murder Krishna Prasad Adhikari in Chitwan.

However, traffic started to surge on the capital roads as people started to defy the call considering the Dar-Eating day programs.

Ram was detained by the police on charges of murdering Krishna, a resident of Gorkha, while he was in Chitwan.

However the UCPN Maoist has time and again denied to treat all the conflict era cases as per existing national laws citing the understanding in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Meanwhile, the UCPN-Maoist has demanded that Ram Prasad Adhikari, who was arrested from the Capital yesterday, be immediately released, and no arrest be made over the conflict-era cases.

Issuing a statement on behalf of the party, Maoist Spokesperson said the UCPN-Maoist is serious over the latest arrest.

“At the time an environment for election is being built up, such act has created doubts if the government is trying to disrupt the election,” the statement reads.

Sapkota further warned of launching other protest programmes until Ram Prasad is released and the case agaisnt him is withdrawn.

The party has demanded that the Truth Reconciliation Commission be set up as soon as possible to look into the conflict-era cases.

Sapkota tried to justify today’s bandh saying that the government did not pay a heed to the party’s request not to revive the conflict-era cases and made the arrest yesterday.

The then Maoist rebels had murdered 18-year-old Krishna Prasad Adhikari of Fujel, Gorkha in Ratnanagar of Chitwan in 2004.

The deceased’s parents are on a hunger strike for the past seven weeks demanding action against his son’s murderers.

KATHMANDU: The efforts to feed the Adhikari couple, parents of Krishna Prasad Adhikari, who have been staging fast-unto-death strike, seeking action to the murderers of their son, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, have turned in vain on Wednesday.

After the Supreme Court ordered the government to immediately make public the progress on the ongoing investigation on the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari, and save the lives of agitating Adhikari couple making them quit hunger strike or feed them has turned the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) releasing a press statement about this.

Secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Krishna Hari Banskota met the Adhikari couple and urged them to struggle to get justice by saving their lives. But the Adhikari Couple rejected the offer on Wednesday morning.

During the occasion, Secretary Banskota assured that the government would continue taking initiative on providing justice and saving the Adhikari couple’s life.

Briefing the journalists, Dr. Bulanda Thapa said the Adhikari couple’s health condition was not as serious as reported in media.

Meanwhile, the human rights activists and conflict affected people have been staging sit-in demanding that the Adhikari couple should be given justice. Dinesh Tripathi, a legal practitioner, and Sabitri Shrestha among others have been leading it.

KATHMANDU: Late Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s parents, Nanda Prasad and Ganga Maya Adhikari, who have been on fasting for the past one and half month, have sent tremors across all state bodies.

The couple has been under medical supervision at the Bir Hospital ICU and their health has been deteriorting day by day. However state organs and political parties are still at odds over addressing their demands- bringing their sons’ murders to justice.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court intervened in the case and ordered authorities to break the Adhikari couple’s hunger strike even by resorting to force.

Responding to a writ petition, the SC had ordered the governemnt for taking all measures to break the couple’s hunger strike to an end.

Prior to this Chairman of the Interim Council of Minster, Khila Raj Regmi had recently pledged to deliver justice and ordered respective authorties to bring all the accused to book.

However, on Tuesday the UCPN Maoist leaders had warned the Regmi and his council of ministers for keeping away from the case arguing that the issue was related to war crimes and should be addressed through the formation of a special justice mechanism- Transitional Justice Mechanism.

A resident of Gorkha district, Krishna Prasad was abducted from Chitwan and murdered by the Maoist rebels ruthlessly in 2004.

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist senior party leadership on Tuesday knocked on the government’s door and urged for not reviving any of the conflict era war crimes.

Party Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal, Vice Chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha, urged
Chairman of Interim Election Council of Ministers, Khilaraj Regmi on Tuesday morning for withdrawing any arrest orders against their party cadres in any cases that took place in the conflict era.

Their call comes at a time when the government has issued orders for arresting the murderers of Krishna Prasad Regmi of Chitwan way back in 2004.

While stating that the party was responsible for all the actions that happened during the conflict era, they said all crimes committeed from the state side and their side should be tried in a different way through the formation of Truth and Reconcillation Commission, as agreed in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Knowledgeble sources claimed that the Maoist termed the whole process as a conspiracy against their party and to derail the proposed November 19 CA elections.

Recently, Regmi had visited deceased Adhikari’s parents in Bir Hospital, where they are on hunger strike demanding justice, and had pledged to deliver justice to them.

The Maoist leaders urged the government to take the initiative to form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with such cases soon.

Sabina Lauber, in charge of Nepal at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said giving amnesty to anyone guilty of serious crimes runs counter to Nepal’s obligations to humanitarian law and would deny victims their right to justice.

“Nepal has an obligation to investigate the truth and prosecute those responsible for grave human rights violations,” Lauber, on a visit to Nepal, said. “Amnesty prevents genuine peace and risks new conflict,” she said after a meeting with conflict victims and human rights workers in Kathmandu. “Victims don’t forget these crimes,” she added.

The main political parties, including Maoist former rebels, finalised an order last month to set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as part of a Comprehensive Peace Accord aimed at healing wounds left by the war. As part of a deal, they included a clause allowing the panel to grant amnesty in some cases. Victim groups fear the vague wording is designed to let powerful rights abusers off the hook, possibly even those guilty of serious abuses.

Both the security forces and the Maoists have been accused of human rights violations, including unlawful killings, torture and rape during the conflict in which more than 16,000 were killed, hundreds disappeared and thousands injured.

KATHMANDU: Nepali Army colonel arrested war crime torture by the British police earlier has been granted bail by the local court on Friday.

The Chelmsford Crown Court has pressed £10,000 amount for bailing out Lama the BBC reported quoting Nepali ambassador to UK, Suresh Chalise.

The report further said that Lama will be out of the bars once the Nepali government posts the bail. With the proceedings done in time, Lama is expected to be out by next week at the earliest.

Lama, a serving colonel of the Nepal Army was arrested on January 3 by the British Metropolitan Police in Sussex for alleged war crimes committed by him in 2005.

Earlier in January 24, he was sent to judicial custody till May 10.

He was arrested as per the Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act, which permits the UK to arrest and prosecute people accused of human rights abuses committed overseas, even if the crime is not connected to events in the UK.

Lama had been serving his term with the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Sudan.

Chief of National Human Rights Commission, a constitutional body of the nation that oversees all human rights issues, said that Lama’s arrest in London was as per international laws that provision for the arrest and trial of any national accused of human rights abuses and not been tried for it at home.

Speaking in an televised interview taken by Rishi Dhamala, Chairman Kedar Nath Upadhya said that a human rights abuse case was filed against Lama in the judiciary but as he was not tried for it, the British government booked him for the alleged crimes.

In the RD Show, televised by the Himalayan Television on Saturday, Upadhya said, ‘ The commission supports Lama’s arrest by the British court. We will provide all our support.”

He informed that the incumbent Maoist government has repeatedly denied to implement any of the recommendations made by the commission, and expressed dissatisfaction for not being consulted while preparing the pending Truth and Reconciliation Commission ordinance.

” We don’t know the details and nature of the TRC ordinance that the government has forwarded to the President for approval. As the government has not discussed the ordinance’s details with us, we won’t be accepting the TRC ordinance even if the President endorses it,” Upadhaya said.

The former Chief Justice’s statement comes at a time when the Maoist government is trying to persuade national and international human rights and diplomatic communities for trying all war-crimes- committed by the state and the Maoist- through the formation of TRC.

Elaborating on the reported details of the ordinance, Upadhya said that the proposed TRC has provisions for granting blanket amnesty to serious human rights violation and crimes like murder, rape, extortions.

He said that such provisions were against international war-crime laws and claimed that the commission as well as the international community will not approve the decisions taken by the TRC, even if it forms and prosecutes.

Referring to the ongoing confrontation over the investigation and prosecution of journalist Dekendra Thapa’s murder between rights bodies and the government, Upadhaya said that the government should not influence the investigation.

Terming the Prime Minister and Attorney General’s directives to stop the investigation of Thapa’s murder as an wrong act, he claimed both of them do not have the authority to deny justice.

KATHMANDU: A senior CPN UML leader has claimed that some ‘so-called intellectuals’ and foreigners have been inciting confrontation between various political forces in Nepal.

K P Oli, who has been often noted for his bold statements and criticism, this time came down heavily upon these intellectuals and foreigners without pointing to any of them in particular.

He claimed that the recent confrontation between political parties has been a direct result of increasing foreign interventions in Nepal’s transitional fluid politics and claimed that the UCPN Maoist government has been manuvering these foreign elements in Nepal.

Referring to the ongoing confrontation between rights activists, western nations and the government over the prosecution of war crimes, Oli opined that the international forces were playing in Nepal by using the human rights card and added that some Nepali so called intellectuals were aiding these forces.

Accusing the Maoists of deviating from their pledges time and again, he claimed that PM Bhattarai’s lust for power was hindering the stabilisation of politics in the country.

Speaking in a party program organised in the Eastern region, Oli asserted that all political parties should come together and fight against the foreign interventions.

Deuba’s statement comes at a time when the European nations have been pressing Nepal to form Truth and Reconcilliation Commission and other transitional justice mechamism to bring war-crimes to books.

Along with that human rights, and journalist bodies across the nation are on agitation demanding trial of Maoist cadres who murdered journalist Dekendra Thapa in 2004.

Speaking at an interaction program organised in Nepalgunj on Friday, Deuba said accused the Maoists of upsetting the peace process and said that the totalitarian mindset of the Maoists is hindering the drafting of the new constitution.

He further slammed the coalition government of unilateral decisions and claimed that the lust for power among political parties was the main reason for the present political and constitutional status quo.

Stating that his party had forwarded Koirala’s candidacy for the PM’s post as per inter-party consensus, he accused the Maoists of deviating from their promises.