Kathmandu, June 27 :

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal, during a meeting with the Maoist leaders, raised its concerns over a “series of abductions” and killings in the central region.

The Maoist leaders assured the OHCHR that the alleged killings will be probed and the guilty punished. The civilians and Maoist cadres, according to the OHCHR, should be handed over to the state authorities for investigations and prosecutions.

It urged the Maoists to set up an ‘internal oversight mechanism’ to ensure that investigations are carried out to prevent such abuses.

Nine killings since May 3 have been attributed to the Maoists, said the OHCHR, which expressed its concerns to the Maoist leadership at a meeting on June 23 and in a subsequent letter of June 26.

The OHCHR also raised the cases of two individuals who were reportedly abducted in Kathmandu and severely beaten in Kavre.

“In most of the cases, the victims were accused of crimes or offences and were apparently under investigation. In some of those cases, local CPN-M leaders had accepted responsibility and had apologised,” an OHCHR statement said today.

“The CPN-M leadership gave assurances that such killings are not the Maoists’ policy and that the Maoists take these cases very seriously,” the statement said. The statement, quoting Officer-in-Charge of OHCHR, David Johnson said: “Civilians and Maoist cadres suspected of criminal activity should be turned over to the relevant state authorities so that they can be investigated and where appropriate, prosecuted in a timely manner.”

UML’s concern

KATHMANDU: CPN-UML on Tuesday expressed concern over the Maoists violating the code of conduct. In a statement, the party said its cadres Dr Krishna Adhikari and Damodar Aryal were being threatened and tortured in the name of People’s Court at their residences. It also demanded the Maoists to close the People’s Court. — HNS