• Probe into insurgency-era complaints will begin from mid-April

Janakpurdham, March 22

A high-level probe commission team arrived in Janakpur today to investigate into Madhes and Tharuhat agitations.

The team comprising former chief justice and commission’s Chairman Girishchandra Lal and members Surya Prasad Koirala, Nabaraj Dhakal, Sukhchandra Jha and Sujan Lopchan will stay in Janakpur till March 27 and investigate Dhanusha and Mahottari incidents. The team arrived here yesterday.

During Madhes agitation, Sanjay Chaudhary, 35, Dilip Yadav, 13 and Nitu Yadav,14 were killed in police firing in Janakpur. The team will make a field observation of places where shots were fired and hold meeting with victims’ family members.

At the programme organised on the premises of Dhanusha District Coordination Committee today, deceased Sanjay’s brother Raju sought action those guilty of killing his brother. “I request you to punish police personnel who shot my brother to death while he was staging a peaceful demonstration,” Raju said, adding “Unless Madhesis are given justice, the agitation will continue and number of martyrs will keep rising.”

Sunil Kumar Das, who was injured in the same incident, demanded that the guilty be punished. Das argued that it was pointless to prepare the report and submit it to the government. He insisted that peace would not prevail in Tarai unless the guilty were brought to justice.

The commission’s chair Lal said his team would meet legal practitioners in Janakpur and seek their suggestion on the Tarai unrest. Lal said his team would prepare a report after collecting facts. “It is the duty of the government to bring the guilty to book,”  Lal added.

The commission is mandated to investigate into murder, killing, arson, vandalism during the Madhes and Tharuhat agitations. The commission had asked the victims to file their complaints with it four months ago.