Torture and Extrajudicial Killing
On October 15, 2005, army personnel tricked Purna Shrestha and Bidur Bhattarai into meeting with them and arrested them. They then tortured them, and shot them dead at around 9:30 am. The army then informed family members that the men had been killed during an army operation. The families and other villagers found torture-related wounds on the bodies although they were not able to obtain copies of the post-mortem reports.
In mid-2007, the Biratnagar Appellate Court refused the petition on behalf of Bidur but ordered the DPO to register a FIR in the case of Purna. Still the SP refused to register the FIR.
Developments
On 15 October, 2008, the victims’ families once again attempted to file FIRs. Police only accepted the FIR relating to Purna Shrestha. On June 18, 2009, Purna Shrestha’s family filed a petition of mandamus at the Biratnagar Appellate Court seeking an order for the police to promptly start an investigation into the FIR.
The family of Bidur Bhattarai has appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision of the Appellate Court.
In Purna Shrestha ‘s case, on November 9, 2009 the Biratnagar Appellate Court issued a mandamus order for the DPO to promptly start an investigation into the FIR, reminding it of its duties in law.
In Bidur Bhattarai’s case, a hearing of an appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision of the Biratnagar Appellate Court to refuse to accept a mandamus petition took place on October 28, 2010. The court ordered the DPO and public prosecutor to come before it to explain why the FIR has not been registered.
