Darchula Tuin Incident

DHANGADI, AUGUST 6

The government team formed to probe the tuin incident in Darchula has fallen into controversy after it started its investigation in collaboration with the SSB.

Personnel of SSB have been accused of dismantling the tuin set up over the Mahakali River while Jayashing Dhami crossing the river using the tuin.

According to eye-witnesses and locals, Dhami of Darchula's Byas Rural Municipality fell into the Mahakali River after the SSB personnel undid the tuin on the Indian side of the river a week ago.

The government has formed a probe committee led by Home Ministry's assistant secretary Janardan Gautam, but the locals are not happy with the team after the team members decided to take a few SSB personnel along with them to the incident site - Gasku-Malghat - for the investigation.

A demonstration was held at Gasku-Malghat today in protest of the investigating team's choice of the route to the incident site.

Some 30 to 35 locals and cadres Netra Bikram Chand-led party reached the incident site and chanted slogans against the probe team for using the Indian route to reach the incident site.

The investigation committee has Sudurpaschim Province's DIG Purushottam Kandel, National Investigation Department director Hutaraj Thapa, APF SSP Suresh Kumar Shrestha and Darchula Assistant Chief District Officer Jyotsana Bhatta Joshi as members. With the team, SSB commandant Mahendra Pratap and other two SSB officials of Didihat of India also gained the incident site with the probe panel.

When asked, Assistant CDO Joshi said SSB members were taken on board to facilitate the process. 33-year-old Dhami had met with the accident while crossing the river on a tuin on the way to the district headquarters Khalanga.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 7 2021, of The Himalayan Times.