Col Lama acquitted in one case of rights violation

KATHMANDU: Nepali Army Colonel Kumar Lama has been acquitted in one case of rights violation, while decision is still pending in another case of torture.

The NA officer got clean cheat in case of allegedly torturing Karam Hussian, while verdict in the case of alleged torture of Janak Bahadur Raut has been deferred till the first week of September, a source in London told The Himalayan Times over phone.

Col Lama was arrested in London in January 2013 on the charge of inflicting severe pain on Hussian and Raut at a time when the Maoist insurgency in Nepal was at its height in early 2005.

The duo was alleged Maoist supporters and was allegedly tortured by the Nepali Army after being detained at Gorusinghe Barracks, where Col Lama was in charge.

Since the arrest, his trial has been under way at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, London.