Kathmandu, May 26

The Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons has completed the first phase of detailed investigation in 20 districts. It will now investigate in six districts in the next week.

CIEDP Spokesperson Bishnu Pathak said his office was working to complete the first phase of detailed investigation in at least 50 districts in the next eight months. The districts where the first phase of investigation has been completed are: Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhuli, Mahottari, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Jhapa, Khotang, Udaypur, Dhanusha, Pyuthan, Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sunsari, Saptari, Syangja and Siraha. Pathak said his office was trying to complete the probe in 50 districts by February 9.

“We are getting heartbreaking tales from victims’ families,” he said, adding that the impact of disappearance of family members was such that some members of the victims’ families even committed suicide and others slipped into clinical depression. Some suffered heart attacks and brain haemorrhage. Pathak said the children of victims could not continue their study and the families could not transfer properties owned by victims.

Pathak said in the first phase CIEDP planned to collect data from victims’ families and in the next phase it would start interviewing alleged perpetrators.

Pathak said CIEDP’s probe revealed that state security agencies were responsible for about 85 per cent of enforced disappearance.

Chair of Conflict Victims Common Platform Suman Adhikari said the CIEDP’s work wasn’t detailed investigation because tit had neither interviewed the alleged perpetrators nor started excavation at suspected sites.

The CIEDP has submitted a proposal to amend the TRC Act to criminalise enforced disappearance with retroactive effect. “We can’t do our job if TRC Act is not amended to criminalise enforced disappearance and introduce retroactive effect,” Pathak said.