Kathmandu, February 17:

In an explanation furnished by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) to the Supreme Court, the RNA said it has not detained Maoist activists in their barracks, as claimed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

In a written explanation, the RNA and the Jagadal Gan Barrack clarified that they had not arrested the Maoists cadres and that they had not detained anyone.

The Legal Unit Chief of the RNA, BA Kumar Sharma, submitted the explanations before the apex court. The RNA Legal Unit had sought information from the barracks concerned in this regard and they have said they have not detained anyone.

The chief of the Jagadal Gan Barrack, Pradip Kumar Adhikary, said the RNA had never detained the people.

The NHRC, in a report submitted to the apex court two months ago, had said a team of its officials had found suspected Maoists Ranjit Darnal, Amrit Darnal, Rajendra Chaurel and Pushpa Raj Basnet detained in Bhairavnath and Jagdal Gan Barrack.

Though the army submitted the explanations they did not furnish clear information about Basnet.

The NHRC report submitted to the apex court states that they were detained without following legal procedures.

“Those held in the army barracks are denied legal consultations and they are not allowed to meet their relatives. Their detention has no constitutional grounds,” the NHRC report had stated.

Based on the report, a division bench of Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha and Top Bahadur Magar had sought clarification from the RNA headquarters and the two barracks on why they submitted false information to the apex court.

“Neither have we arrested nor detained the persons and the habeas corpus petitions should be quashed because the claims made by the petitioner are baseless,” the explanations furnished earlier by the RNA stated.