Determined father seeks justice for son's murder

GHANASHYAM OJHA

KATHMANDU, March 31:
For Nanda Prasad Adhikari justice has remained elusive. Adhikari , who
is in his fifties, has spared no effort to catch the culprits
responsible for the death of his son Krishna Prasad Adhikari, who, he
says, was killed by the Maoists in June 2004. He registered complaints
at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UN Office of
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) besides
filing separate complaints at the Chitwan and Gorkha district police
offices. But his journey in search of justice has not yet ended.



“These days, six years after my son’s murder, I feel my country never
dispenses justice to victims like me,” a weary Adhikari says.



He says he will never feel contented until his son’s killers are
booked. “The soul of my innocent son should get justice,” he says.



Adhikari, a resident of Phujel Village Development Committee (VDC) Ward
No 7 in Gorkha district, says 17-year-old son Krishna Prasad was
abducted on his way to Ratnanagar by Maoist cadres. He was shot dead at
Bakullar Chowk on June 6, 2004 after being put through gruesome torture
at a Maoist detention center.



To Nanda Prasad’s utter consternation, police in Chitwan informed him
that his son was killed in a road accident. “Sir, I am an innocent
villager and I believed in what the police said. I then went to Chitwan
and brought my son’s body back to Gorkha after signing all the
documents the police asked me to,” he said, adding, “The body was very
mutilated and bullet injuries couldn’t be traced on it.

About two months after his son’s death, Adhikari was informed by people
in Chitwan that his son didn’t die in any road accident but was rather
killed by the Maoists after ghastly torture. He then set out on his
journey to collect detailed information concerning his son’s death. He
visited Ratnanagar, from where his son was abducted, and Bakullar
Chowk, where he was shot dead.



“I later found out that my own neighbors, Chhabilal Poudel, Parsuram
Poudel, Bhimsen Poudel, Bishnu Tiwari and others, were involved in the
murder,” he says. The Poudels and Tiwari are all local Maoist cadres in
Phujel.



Adhikari then filed separate complaints with the police in Chitwan and
Gorkha on 11 December 2005, demanding action against the ‘culprits’
behind his son’s murder. In the complaints, he mentioned the names of
those involved.



But worse was to follow. “The Maoists blocked the water supply to my
house besides warning me to withdraw the case,” he said, adding, “The
police remained indifferent .” Regular intimidation by the Maoists
forced him to leave the village in February 2008.



He continued visiting the police in Chitwan and Gorkha every week. In
Gorkha they called him in and those he accused in the murder for
negotiations. “At the police station they all admitted their
involvement in the murder but asked the police not to meddle into the
case,” he said, adding, “The Maoist cadres are very powerful at the
local level and the police didn’t want to proceed with the case.”



Adhikari was especially dismayed when District Superintendent of Police
in Gorkha, Gita Upreti, said in 2007 that she couldn’t proceed with the
case. DSP Upreti shifted the burden to the Chitwan district police
office. Adhikari then approached Superintendent of Police Gyan Bikram
Shah in Chitwan. “He (Gyan Bikram Shah) said he has already sent the
case back to Gorkha,” said Adhikari, who has been living as an
internally displaced person in Kathmandu along with his wife and eldest
son.



Nura Prasad Adhikari , the eldest son, quit his studies half way at
Prithvi Narayan Campus in Pokhara after his brother was killed. “I
couldn’t complete my bachelor’s degree as my brother’s murderers
threatened to kill me if the case was not withdrawn,” Nura Prasad said,
adding, “I will never be able to rest until those culprits are behind
bars.”



One cannot say how long the Adhikari family will have to strive in the
pursuit of justice. But this story shows how the culture of impunity is
taking a toll on innocent people.

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ghanashyam@myrepublica.com