KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30
The National Human Rights Commission issued a press release urging the government to investigate the explosion that killed two children and injured two more children in Panchthar district yesterday. The explosion that occurred at around 3.30 pm yesterday at Phalelung Rural Municipality-5 of Panchthar district at the House of Aitaraj Kerung killed Dilip Sawan's -two-year toddler Prinsa Sawan and 11-year-old son Dipsan Sawan. Other two children- 10-year-old Pawan Rai son of Dipak Rai and seven-year-old Dipsan Rai son of Dipak Rai were injured who are undergoing treatment in district hospital.
NHRC said that the explosive that went off yesterday might have been left during the warring sides during 10-year long Maoist insurgency. Deputy Superintendent of Police Hemanta Bhandari said over phone from Panchthar that the explosive was Improvised explosive device (IED).
The NHRC has demanded that the government punish those responsible for the incident and provide treatment to injured and compensation to the victims' families. The rights body reminded the CPN-MC and the government that point number 5.1.4 of the Comprehensive Peace Accord placed responsibilities on them to find landmines, explosives planted during conflict within 30 days and diffuse them within 60 days and yet explosives left during conflict continue to victimize innocent people, mainly children. Even after 18 years since the CPA was signed, explosives left/planted during conflict have not been found and diffused, NHRC Spokesperson Tikaram Pokharel said.
This is not the first time that such innocent children were killed by the explosives planted/left during conflict. In the past such incidents occurred in Rolpa, Kalikot, Lamjung, Dang, Jajarkot and Surkhet, according to Chair of National Network of Disable Conflict Victim (NNDCV) Surendra KC who himself lost both hands on June 26, 2006 in Myagdi.
Both NHRC and police suspect that the explosive was left in the back side of Aitaraj Kerung's house. NHRC Spokesperson Pokharel said that the explosive might have been left by Maoist combatants during conflict, Pokharel added.
Pokharel said that he favoured forming an expert team to find and diffuse explosives left during conflict. NHRC said that it was deeply troubling that despite its repeated reminder to conflict parties to remove explosives planted/left during conflict, they have not done so and children continue to be the victims. NHRC urged the government to provide free treatment to the injured children and to provide compensation to the victims' families.
NNDCV Chair Surendra KC told THT that it was possible that the explosive might have been left either by the Maoist combatant or the security personnel during conflict. He said those injured or killed by the bombs planted/left by any side of the conflict should be treated as conflict victims and reparation should be paid to them on par with other conflict victims. KC said some other victims who were injured or killed in similar incidents had not got any compensation for the sufferings they endured.
According to Panchthar DSP Hemant Bhandari, Prinsa Sawan died while being transported to hospital in Ilan and Dipsan Sawan died at a Hospital in Jhapa district.
Dilip Sawan, father of the two children killed in yesterday's incident, is currently working in Dubai and has left for home, said Phalelung Rural Municipality Ward-5 Chair Bharat Khapangi Magar. The two injured children Pawan Rai and Dipsan Rai are undergoing treatment in Panchthar hospitals.
Khapangi Magar said that the House where the explosion occurred belonged to local Maoist leader Aitaraj Kerung who had given two rooms of his house to one Deepak Rai four years ago to look after his house is suspected to have mistakenly dumped the explosives to the nearby bushes two years ago. The place where the explosives were brought by the playing children had bushes. The curious children first tried to cut the explosive with a knife but when they could not open it, they hit it with a hammer and that was when the explosive exploded, according to Khapangi Magar.
According to Panchthar DSP Hemanta Bhandari, security personnel found another explosive from the place where children had found the explosive yesterday. Members of Nepal Army diffused the explosive today. Bhandari said
