Kathmandu, August 24

While the ruling coalition recently began gathering signatures to sack Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar, the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau has launched a 'suo motu' investigation in a case involving Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar.

Suo motu is a Latin phrase meaning 'on its own motion' or 'on its own initiative.' It is commonly used in legal and judicial contexts to describe a court action taken in the absence of a formal complaint or request from either party.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, Spokesperson for the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau SP Narendra Kunwar said, 'There has been no official investigation against De p u t y Sp e a k e r Ra n a Magar. However, the police could conduct an internal Investigation.'

He further said, 'Based on the 'suo motu' principle, we have been running an internal investigation to find trafficking based on published information for our intelligence. We are investigating whether they went missing or were trafficked. However, there has been no investigation into the deputy speaker.'

When asked if the investigation is linked to the deputy speaker or not, he responded, 'Whether it is or not, that is something I cannot say. However, it is important to note that in 2015, five children went missing or were trafficked. Thus, we are conducting an internal investigation into the matter.'

On the one hand, police are looking into the case which became public as the ruling party attempted to remove Deputy Speaker Rana Magar over her letter to the US Embassy in Kathmandu requesting a visa date. On the other hand, the ruling coalition – Nepali Congress and CPN-UML – recently began collecting lawmakers' signatures in an attempt to secure a two-thirds support to remove Rana Magar.

Last year, the deputy speaker landed in a controversy when the media reported that she wanted to facilitate visas for some unrelated people when she was scheduled to go to the United States to attend a conference in March 2023.

In February 2023, she had written to the US Embassy in Kathmandu to arrange visa interview dates for six people, including herself.

NC and CPN-UML would need support from some fringe parties as well to secure a two-thirds majority required to expel Deputy Speaker Rana Magar.

However, reports have emerged that the bid to sack her has been halted due to backlashes and factional disputes in NC.

During a House of Representatives meeting on August 21, UML lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai claimed that Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA-Nepal), an organisation affiliated with Deputy Speaker Rana Magar, was involved in child trafficking. Journalist Suman Dhungana confirmed Bhattarai's claim, publishing a report stating that he was forced to resign from his job while investigating and reporting on the incident and news. In his report, he stated that on November 3, 2015, five children vanished unnoticed from the child care centre and never returned.

In his story, Dhungana has also claimed that the then KP Oli government made an important decision on October 31, 2019. The Council of Ministers established a five-member high-level inquiry commission, chaired by former Patan High Court Judge Haribabu Bhattarai, to investigate all illegal activities at the Nepal Children's Organisation and the Bal Mandir. The commission presented its investigation report to the government.

A special source provided Dhungana with access to the confidential report. Chapter 3 of the report contains a sensational statement. Rita Singh Vaidya, president of the children's organisation from its inception until 2019, admitted to the commission that Indira Rana Magar's organisation illegally removed five children from Sifal Children's Home. Rita Singh is Ganeshman Singh's daughter and sister of the current Deputy Prime Minister Prakashman Singh.

Journalist Dhungana stated that while reporting on Deputy Speaker Rana Magar's illegal child trafficking, the television station where he worked for fired him, and the report was hidden.

SP Kunwar also confirmed with THT that the Human Trafficking Bureau had initiated the investigation following media reports.

When THT enquired about the details with Dhungana, he said, 'It's all in my article; look it up.' Dhungana published his article in the Nepali language online media Nepalpress.