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Krishna Adhikari

Krishna Adhikari On 6 June 2004, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, a resident of Fujel village of Gorkha District, was murdered in Chitwan District by Maoist cadres. Krishna Prasad was visiting his grandparents after having taken the SLC examinations, and he was abducted from Bakullahar Chowk by men who came on a motorcycle ...
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Maina Sunuwar

Maina Sunuwar Around 6 am on February 17, 2004, a group of RNA soldiers arrested Ms Maina Sunuwar, a 15-year-old schoolgirl of Kharelthok VDC-6, Kavre district. She disappeared since her arrest. Her family members, with support from villagers and school where Maina was a student, visited detention centers ...
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Sanjeev Kumar Karna

Sanjeev Kumar Karna Sanjeev Kumar Karna was one among the 11 persons arrested on October 8, 2003. On that fateful day, they had gone to attend a picnic program organized by the students at a place called Kariyachauri VDC-4, and from picnic, they went to Kataiya Chowri Area of Dhanusha district where they ate some food ...
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Arjun Bahadur Lama

Arjun Bahadur Lama, 48 years in age, permanent resident of Chhatrebas VDC -5, Dapcha in Kavre district was abducted by a group of Maoist cadres, three in number, on 29 April 2005 (2062.1.16 BS) from the premises of Sri Krishna Secondary School at Chhatrebas VDC-1 of the district.
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Hari Prasad Bolakhe

Hari Prasad Bolakhe, 35 (while missing) a permanent resident of Phulbari VDC-8, Kavre district, a pastor by profession, had been missing since the arrest December 27, 2003, was reportedly killed by security persons. A team of National Human Rights Commission discovered a human skeleton in a jungle ...
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Sarala Sapkota

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 ...
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Birendra Shah

On the evening of 5 October 2007, Mr. Birendra Shah, 34, resident of Inruwasira VDC-8, Bara district, a local journalist of Bara district and correspondent of Nepal FM, Avenues Television and Dristi weekly, was abducted by Maoists from Pipara Bazaar in Kalaiya, the district headquarters of Bara ...
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Bishwanath Parajuli, Tom Nath Poudel and Dhan Bahadur Tamang

Three persons namely Bishwonath Parajuli (also called Nagendra Parajuli), Tom Nath Poudel and Dhan Bahadur Tamang of Hasandaha VDC, Morang were shot dead by the security personnel on 28 September 2004. According to the eyewitnesses, other victims and the villagers, about 16 people were arrested ...
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Chot Nath Ghimire and Shekhar Nath Ghimire

Chot Nath Ghimire, a 58-year-old farmer, resident of Ishaneshor VDC-4, Ratamate Majhpokhari of Lamjung district was allegedly arrested by the Joint Security Forces of Joint Security Camp stationed at Bhorlatar VDC, Lamjung district on February 2, 2002 (2058.10.20). The security camp called Mr. ...
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Bhauna Tharu

Bhauna Tharu (Bhauna Chaudhary in the citizenship card), 21 years old male (at the time of the incident; Date of Birthe: 8 September 1978), son of Purna Bahadur Chaudhary, permanent resident of Sujanpur village, Neulapur VDC-4, Bardiya district, and an employee of Rastriya Gobar Gas, Gulariya, ...
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Close Encounters

Stories from the Frontline of Human Rights Work in Nepal

Close Encounters
During Nepal’s armed conflict and its aftermath, human rights violations not only scarred and destroyed the victims but had a devastating effect on the lives of human rights defenders.
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Arjun Gurung

Case Summary: On Aug 8, 2009, policemen arrested Arjun Gurung citing that they had something to ask him about a robbery in his neighborhood. After interrogation in the police office, they released him with a condition that he would report to them whenever they ask him. He reported to them regularly for 4 to 5 days and on the 6th day a policeman whose surname was Giri beat Gurung up with 8 to 10 sticks asking him about the robbery. The victim and his relatives exchanged heated words with the police for beating up an innocent man for no reason. On 1 September 2009 policemen arrested Gurung from his home. On that day and the next day, policemen inflicted severe torture on Arjun Gurung asking him to own up the robbery that he did not commit. Even DSP Basanta Kunwar inflicted torture on Gurung and threatened him to charge him falsely of possessing illegal drugs. Gurung has sustained physical and mental problems due to the torture.
Case Details:

Based on the statement of the victim:

On 1 September 2009 day at around 7 am, I had tea and cigarette and started to clean my room. At that time some policemen came to my shop. They called me and I climbed down. I found that two policemen in uniform were waiting for me there. One of them was SI Bikram Shah and another was a head constable whom I knew. The SI said to me, "You bastard, you drink from the morning? Let's go to police station." Shanti Khadgi who was robbed, too was there. Then I asked her why she called the police and how she could suspect me for the robbery that I hadn’t committed. But the police arrested me and put me in a police van. There were two other policemen too in the van. They took me to Balaju police Office and kept me in the police post premise. They kept me there for almost 1 hour but they didn't ask me any questions. I had already recognized some of the policemen and they asked me why I was there. But the inquiry didn't start on my case. The policemen who arrested me too were there. After a while there came an ASI and ordered other policemen to take me to the open space in the premise and one woman head constable took me there. She took me in front of the detention cell near to the guard room. Everyone was in a rush.

At 11 am, I approached a head constable and complained of hunger. He took me to the mess and gave me food. Then I asked for two cigarettes with a Gurung head constable who had arrested me and I puffed them in toilet. After that I sat on the same place again. At around 3 pm I got a cup of tea. There came an ASI and kicked me on my shin with police boot alleging me for robbing Shanti Khadgi. Till now there is a wound in my shin. At around 6 pm they kept me in a detention cell and after 2 to 3 hours it was the time for dinner. I too was given food but I couldn't eat properly. Almost after 10 minutes they handcuffed me and a dark skinned plainclothes policeman known as Giri took me out from the detention cell. He took me to the case section where a head constable from the computer section. I was forced to lie on the floor. As I was lying down, I was hit on my legs. After that they asked me how I managed to carry out burglary and who were there to help me. I was pleading my innocence from the beginning but they kept repeatedly asking me where I had hidden the stolen money. Then two plainclothes policemen started to beat on my soles with plastic pipes for about 10 minutes. As the room where I was being beaten abutted near the road, they didn't torture me for long. They beat me also with short bamboo sticks. They then took me to a nearby room where there were three beds and a suitcase. They threw me down on the floor and beat me on the soles. Intermittently, they asked me to jump all over the room. They repeatedly forced me to own the crime. After that, they beat me on my bottom and I started kicking in agony. As they found it difficult to beat me systematically, they tied my legs with handcuffs and again beat on the soles of my legs.  Occasionally they used to stand me up and beat me on the bottom. Altogether they beat me 60 times on the bottom. They played me like a football. One of them used to kick me off to one corner of the room and another one used to do the same from another corner. They threatened me to apply electric shocks. I pleaded innocence with other policemen who came to the room but they asked the same question and continued beating me.

While being beaten I realized that this was the fate of being a poor fellow. I remembered my father. They accused me of robbery because I was a poor man and in need of money. As I could not protect myself I didn't move even after their 5 or 6 beatings. As they had lessened the beatings SI came to sleep in the room. He ordered them not to beat me because it was the time to sleep. Giri took me to an adjoined room and said, "Why do you invite torture to yourself? If you haven't robbed, you just tell us whom you ordered to rob the house." I asked for water but he didn't give me any for 15 minutes. He took me to the canteen and I tried to get water by myself but later he gave me some.  I drank half jug of water and collapsed on the canteen table. They made me wash my limbs and face. They searched my slippers and gave them to me. And they sent me to the detention cell. I couldn't sleep well. There were many detainees and I couldn't sleep due to pain because even slight touch by other detainees caused severe pains in my body. Due to fatigue I was unable to lift my head and I was in semi-conscious state. The next day at around 3 or 4 am I was lying on the floor and there was severe pain in my body. At around 7:30 am I asked for a cup of tea and sipped it. I had to pay Rs. 10/- for a cup of tea. During the lunch hour I didn't eat anything because I didn’t feel like eating. Before that I had gone to toilet once. I became very afraid because my urine was black. So, I didn't like to eat anything. At around 12 noon I gave some money to a policeman to buy juice and coconut biscuit for me. I ate those things and at around 1 pm there came a Gurung policeman who handcuffed me and asked me to go with him because DSP had called me.

He took me out and DSP Basanta Kunwar's guard took me to the DSP's office room. (I knew from the board outside his office room). He was sitting on his chair in police uniform. He ordered to his guard to close the curtain of his office room. Then he took a plastic pipe from the side of his table and came towards me. He asked me where I had hidden the stolen goods. I pleaded my innocence but he ordered me to sit on the floor stretching my legs. Before that I had pleaded my innocence to two inspectors Dipti and Suresh Bista but they didn't say anything. I sat on the floor and the DSP beat me once on my shin ordering me to stretch my legs. After that he started to beat me on the soles for 6 to 7 times demanding to tell him the truth. As the pain was severe I pulled my legs and shielded with my hands. I requested him not to beat me because I was severely tortured the previous day despite my innocence. Then he threatened me to take to the investigation section, shoot me on the charge of encounter and so forth. But I didn't say anything. Later he ordered his guard to detain me in the detention cell. On the same day at around 3 pm, I met AF lawyers and told them about the torture inflicted on me. After their legal aid I was released on the same day but every day I have to report at Balaju Police Office.

Due to the torture inflicted on me I have sustained bruises and weal of stick beatings on my head, chest, neck, bottom and right shin. There are 4 to 5 round blue marks on my left arm. On Sept 1, 2009 they had beaten me forcing me to sleep on the floor. A policeman called Giri had stepped on my chest and handcuffed hands and another policeman of Tamang caste had beaten me on my soles. So, my soles are swollen and there are blue marks of torture till now. The backside of my left palm is swollen. The third finger was bleeding from nail. During the torture session I feared that they would kill me. Till now I fear the police. Every day I am reporting to police Office but I fear my re-arrest on other charges. When I see police van I fear that they have come to arrest me again. After the torture a nightmare is haunting me. While in the detention cell I came to know that some innocent detainees were charged on possession of illegal drugs and I feared the fake charge but till now they have not threatened me to file my case under the allegation of possession of drugs.

Effects of Torture: Till now I have been suffering from headache, feeling like not eating anything and having sleepless nights. A pain shoots through my soles even after I walk for a short distance.

Legal Actions: On 18 September 2009, the victim filed a case at the Supreme Court under Torture Compensation Act. The case is still sub-judice in the court.

Note: Meanwhile, DSP Kunwar went to Liberia under UN Peace Keeping Mission on 22 August 2011. After knowing about his involvement in torture, UN Mission repatriated Kunwar.
Click here for case hearing date of Arjun Gurung.

Click here for Court Decision: http://www.advocacyforum.org/news/2012/07/court-awards-compensation-to-torture-survivor.php
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