KATHMANDU, AUGUST 17
A home ministry probe team formed under the Director of Department of Prison Kamal Prasad Pandey found that eight police personnel and inmates at Sankhuwasabha prison beat two inmates - Binod Tolangi, 19, of Khandbari, Sankhuwasabha, and Akash Balami aka Bikash Shrestha, 28, of Nuwakot to death on August 9.
Sankhuwasabha District Police has arrested ASI Laxmi Chaudhary who commanded the security personnel in the jail. District Court Sankhuwasabha has issued an arrest warrant against Laxmi Chaudhary and Acting Chief of Sankhuwasabha Prison Office Rajendra Ghimire. The victims' families had lodged FIR against them. The police are yet to arrest Ghimire.
According to Pandey, the incident occurred at 1:10am on August 9 when the two men broke open the window of their cell and went towards the exit gate in an attempt to escape from jail but were apprehended by security personnel deployed at the jail. Security personnel deployed under the command of ASI Laxmi Chaudhary first beat the two men and handed them over to other jail inmates who too beat them brutally.
Both inmates were rushed to the nearby hospital at around 5:00am. One was declared dead on arrival and another died at the hospital while undergoing treatment, according to Pandey. He said the probe team formed under him had the mandate to investigate two things - the cause of death and the people involved in the incident.
As far as punishment for those responsible for the death of two inmates is concerned, those involved in the beating of the two men would face punishment in accordance with the prevailing laws and those found guilty of dereliction of duty could face departmental action, Pandey added.
His team will submit its probe report to the home ministry tomorrow or on Sunday.
Other rights organisations, the National Human Rights Commission and Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) also separately investigated the incident. INSEC investigated the incident from August 11- 13. INSEC released its investigation report in Morang district today, saying the two inmates were tortured to death.
INSEC has demanded that security personnel responsible for the death of the two inmates be brought to book immediately and compensation be provided to the victims' families. The rights organisation also urged the government to investigate the incident impartially, make prison rules and standards human-rights friendly, address the problem of overcrowding in jails, and execute open jail provisions that hitherto remains limited to paper.
Chief of INSEC Koshi Provincial Office Somraj Thapa said that police personnel deployed in the jail severely tortured the two inmates before handing them over to the jail naike (leader) who too beat them up.
According to Thapa, a woman whose house is close to the jail, heard the two men screaming and begging for mercy. She heard the two inmates scream, "I am dead, I am dead." Thapa said the bodies of the two inmates bore signs of torture, including bruises.
"It appears that they tortured the two men by piercing wall nails in their legs," he added. According to Thapa, one victim was brought dead and another died at the nearby hospital within 5-7 minutes after arrival.
Director of Amnesty International Nepal Nirajan Thapaliya told THT that the torture death of two inmates reflected omission of duty on the part of the state. "Prison violence is a worldwide phenomenon and government bodies must be always be mindful to prevent such problems. If anybody loses his/her life in prison due to torture or violence, the state must take responsibility," he said and added that all jail inmates were entitled to all the human rights except right of movement. "Jail inmates are there to serve their sentence and they are entitled to all their human rights," he added.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 18, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
