KATHMANDU, MAY 17

A day after the Supreme Court endorsed the life imprisonment slapped on Resham Chaudhary, his wife Ranjita Shrestha-led Nagarik Unmukti Party demanded that the government resolve the Tikapur incident as a political issue.

In an attempt to build pressure on the government, the party organised a press conference here today and announced it would carry out torch rallies across the nation on May 17, 18 and 19 and a general strike across the country from May 20 to 23.

Senior Vice-president of NUP Damodar Pandit said at a press conference here today that Tharuhat movement was basically for protecting identity and it would continue to do so. The NUP said that Tikapur incident was a purely political issue and the solution to the problem should be sought politically rather than through the judiciary (the Supreme Court). The party reminded the political parties that in the past all democratic leaders who championed the cause of democracy were indicted in the Panchayat system and some were put in jail but after the restoration of democracy, they were released.

'CK Raut and Netra Bikram Chand were treated as politicians and brought into the political mainstream, but why was Tikapur incident of 2015 not treated as a political incident?' The NUP wondered. 'We have accepted the SC's verdict of yesterday but this is a political issue, not a judicial one,' the NUP added.

Stating that Tikapur incident was a political issue, the party urged all top leaders to remember their past and try to resolve the issue politically.

The party demanded that the Lal Commission report be made public as per the order of the Supreme Court. It said if the government did not make the Lal Commission report public, the party would have no option but to launch agitation. It said if Resham Chaudhary was guilty, a law should be made to hang him. Nepal has abolished death penalty.

Eight security personnel including Nepal Police Senior Superintendent (SSP) Lakshman Neupane were killed as the agitated mob ruthlessly targeted security personnel deployed to control the agitation. One toddler was also killed in the incident.

Twenty-nine leaders who organised the Tharuhat gathering that day are absconding.

Four defendants in the case, including Resham Chaudhary, face life imprisonment, four defendants face 10 years in prison and eight defendants face five years in prison. Similarly, three people face three years in prison, one defendant faces six months in prison.

The court has acquitted six defendants.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 18, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.