Kathmandu, May 10:

Two indigenous women were forced to leave their village after receiving death threats from the Royal Nepalese Army personnel deployed at the Khoriya Post at Meghauli VDC-2, Chitwan.

One of the two, Shanti Kumal, who is residing in Kathmandu, said today that the RNA men had threatened to kill her after she complained against them to the local media.

“None of our girls are safe; many of them are exploited sexually,” she said during a public hearing at Martin Chautari today.

Her sister, Heera Kumal, has also been living at her uncle’s house at Jutpani after continuous harassment from the RNA men.

“Nine local indigenous women were manhandled by army personnel on April 30,” she said, adding, “Their belongings were also looted.”

“The army men deployed to safeguard the buffer zone snare innocent girls while they are foraging in the jungle for grass and firewood,” Kumal said.

She also recalled the incident when a man was forced to strip by RNA personnel in front of his mother-in-law. The man left for India out of humiliation.

She said none of the people of the local indigenous community had the guts to speak against RNA atrocities and were hence tolerating all their excesses.

Kumal demanded harsh punishment be meted out to RNA Lieutenant Bishal Thapa in charge of the battalion there.

“We cannot feel safe unless the RNA leaves our village,” she said.

After hearing out Kumal, MP Bidhya Bhandari condemned the incident and vowed to raise the issue in the parliament.

Another MP of Chitwan district, Sabitri Bogati, called on Kumal to return home without fear. “The establishment of Loktantra gives us tremendous power. Now we can fight for ourselves,” she said, adding, incidents like this were being repeated at many national parks and buffer zones across the country.

Other participants in the meet also raised questions about the rational of the placement of security forces in conservation areas. Nepalis can safeguard these facilities themselves, they said.