Rivals killed UML Okhal cadre: Report

ANKIT ADHIKARI
KATHMANDU, AUG 19 
 

In the wake of strings of killings across the country and in the absence of clarity on groups involved in the majority of the cases, a sense of insecurity remains pervasive in the public. Two human rights groups on Thursday tried to unravel some of the mystery surrounding the murder of a UML cadre in Okhaldhunga in the eastern hills.

A preliminary report prepared by the Joint Forum for Human Rights and the People’s Rights Concerned Movement on the murder of UML leader Chhavi Lal Karki in Thulachhap VDC-2, Okhaldhunga, concluded the murder was instigated by rivalry in the political and family domains.

The report claims Bidur Subedi (Bichar), in charge of the Thulachap VDC for the Maoist party, and the company were behind the murder. However, it says the UCPN (Maoist) had no hand in the killing.

Karki, who had been actively involved in politics since 1990, was murdered by an unidentified group on July 8 at dinner with his friends Dev Bahadur Katawal and Dil Bahadur Sarki.

According to the report, both the police and the local people have suspected the involvement of Katawal and Sarki in the murder. While Katawal is in the police custody, Subedi and Sarki remain fugitive.

The report also points finger at the siblings of late Kari. Chandra Bahadur Karki, step brother of late Karki, who has ties with the Maoist party, has been taken into custody.

But series other murders and crime continue to baffle the public. There were more than 85 killings from January to July this year, according to the statistics compiled by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC).

INSEC data points finger at the state for 17 murders. While the Maoists have been blamed for one murder, Nepali Congress and UML youth wing—Youth Force—were blamed for taking one and two lives, respectively.

Similarly, various Madhes-based outfits including the Tarai Mukti Morcha, Tarai Janatantrik Party, Jantantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Party, Tarai Jantantrik Mukti Morcha, Samyukta Jantantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha and others have more than 15 murders into their account.

The culprits remained unidentified in more than 45 murders. More than 470 individuals, with an average of around 35 per month, were killed between 2009 and 2010, according to INSEC.

Published in The Kathmandu Post -- August 20