Rukum, December 24

Fourteen years after he was murdered by the erstwhile Maoist rebels, the final rites of Chandra Bahadur Khatri of Jhule-3, Bherakhet, Rukum was carried out in his village on Tuesday.

Then Nepali Congress leader Khatri was abducted and later murdered 14 years ago in a forest by the then Maoist insurgents, who had accused him of not providing donation, and not cooperating for the ‘revolution’.

His funeral rites were conducted in his village by burning his effigy.

“As the Maoists then didn’t let us observe the funeral rites, we could not perform them then,” said Chandra Bahadur’s son, Basanta, adding they would observe mourning period as per Hindu tradition.

Following the murder of Chandra Bahadur and seizure of their property, the family had left the place and headed to Dang seeking a safe place to take up residence.

Though the Maoists had spirited away the eldest son Basanta too from Dang later, he could escape from the kidnappers’ clutches and had hidden himself for many years working as a labourer in India before coming back to the country.