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On 11 May 2008. Sushil Kumar Lakhe is a well known human rights lawyer in the area as well
as the regional coordinator
of the Nepalgunj office of Advocacy
Forum, a prominent human
rights organization
in Nepal was victim of an illegal house search by the police in Banke
district
At around
6:20pm on 11 May 2008, about 10 policemen, including
a police head constable Nar
Bahadur Baigwar and a
police constable Dubar Yadav, who were from the temporary Police
Post of Fultekra in Banke
district came to the house of a human rights lawyer Mr. Sushil Kumar Lakhe located in Nepalgunj Municipality ward no. 6, Fultekra, Banke district, Nepal. The
policemen then searched
his home without producing any search warrant. Mr. Lakhe was on the way home to meet with five 5 visitors. His wife and son was at home at the
time.
According to Mr. Lakhe's
family, the policemen scattered
in front their house for a while.
The police head constable Nar
Bahadur Baigwar and
the police constable Dubar Yadav then entered Mr. Lakhe's house and searched his room. They opened a drawer of Mr. Lakhe's desk and looked at all the documents. Mr. Lakhe's
son asked the police for the reason of the house search
but the police did not reply.
According to the family,
the police neither produced
a search warrant nor
gave them a reason
for the house search.
After searching
Mr. Lakhe's room for about five minutes, the
policemen left his
house. However, they took the five visitors into custody without producing an arrest warrant. The police also
failed to provide a reason for their arrest. The five persons were released shortly afterwards and before being taken to the police
station.
Upon learning
of the incident, Mr. Lakhe called
to the Superintendent of Police [SP] Mr. Ghanashyam Bhatta of the Banke District Police Office (DPO) as well as Sub Inspector of Police Govinda
Rokka of the temporary
Police Post in Fultekra to make
inquiries. They denied that the police had been to his house.
Prior to this
incident, 2 unidentified persons
riding a red motorbike followed him from near the Laliguras Hotel of New Road in Nepalgunj
municipality at around 9:40pm on May 2, when
he was returning home on his bike.
When he reached Dewafulbari of Nepalgunj, he heard them saying, "this man says himself as a human rights defender and we have to finish him".
He was able to escape from
them by taking a different route. He stayed in a safe place overnight and went home on
the following day.
On the afternoon
of May 2, Mr. Lakhe accompanied
a widow who wanted to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the army commanders at the Banke DPO office regarding
the killing of her husband Kamal Dahal. Despite the repeated requests and arguments made by Mr. Lakhe, the Banke DPO refused to register the FIR
of the widow on that day. However, the FIR was finally registered at the Kohalpur Area Police Station in Banke
district on May 4.
To briefly
explain about Kamal Dahal's
killing, on 1 January
2002: Kamal Dahal, who
was a teacher at that time, was picked up from the school premises by army personnel led by Major Ajit Thapa and Captain Ramesh Swar from the Bhimkali Battalion in Banke
district. On the following day,
a local radio station announced that he had
been killed by the army
during an encounter. However, his family members have not received any detailed information about his
death and the location of his
body.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the
local authorities listed
below and express your
serious concern about
this case. Please
urge them to inquire
about the illegal house search
of the victim by the police and to take action against those guilty police officers.
Support this appeal, please
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear __________,
NEPAL:
Police illegally searched
one human rights lawyer's house in Banke
district
Name of victim: Mr. Sushil Kumar Lakhe, aged 52, a human rights lawyer as well as the regional coordinator of the Advocacy
Forum Regional Office, Nepalgunji
in Banke district, the resident
of Nepalgunj Municipality
ward no. 6, Fultekra,
Banke district, Nepal
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Police Head Constable Mr. Nar Bahadur Baigwar attached to the temporary
Police Post of Fultekra in Banke
district, Nepal
2. Police Constable Mr. Dubar Yadav attached to the temporary
Police Post of Fultekra
3. Other 7-8 police personnel attached to the temporary
Police Post of Fultekra
Date of incident: At around
6:20pm on 11 May 2008
Place of incident: The victim's house in Nepalgunj Municipality ward no. 6, Fultekra, Banke district, Nepal
I am deeply concerned by the illegal
house search of a human
rights defender Mr. Sushil
Kumar Lakhe by the
police in Banke district on 11 May 2008. Mr. Lakhe is a well known human rights lawyer in the area as well
as the regional coordinator
of the Nepalgunj office of the Advocacy Forum, a prominent
human rights organization in Nepal.
According to the information I
have received, at around 6:20pm on 11 May 2008, about 10 policemen, including a police head
constable Nar Bahadur
Baigwar and a police constable Dubar Yadav, who were from the temporary Police Post of Fultekra
in Banke district illegally
searched the house of Mr. Sushil
Kumar Lakhe in Nepalgunj Municipality ward no. 6, Fultekra, Banke district, Nepal. The
policemen neither produced
a house search warrant
nor gave a reason for
the house search to the family
members. In particular,
the police head constable Nar
Bahadur Baigwar and
the police constable Dubar Yadav entered Mr. Lakhe's house
and searched his
room. They opened a drawer of Mr. Lakhe's desk
and looked at all the
documents in there.
I am informed that the police illegally arrested five visitors from Mr. Lakhe's home. The
police did not either
give the reason for their arrest or produce the arrest warrant.
However, the five persons
arrested were released shortly afterwards without being taken to the police
station.
I am also informed
that when Mr. Lakhe contacted the Superintendent of Police [SP] Mr. Ghanashyam
Bhatta of the Banke
District Police Office (DPO) as well as Sub Inspector of Police Govinda Rokka of the temporary Police Post in Fultekra,
they denied that the police went to his house.
I am deeply concerned by the fact that this is not an isolated incident
threatening his security. I have learned that at night of 2 May
2008, 2 unidentified persons
riding a red motorbike followed him from nearby Laliguras Hotel of New Road in Nepalgunj
municipality with an
intention of attacking him.
When he reached Dewafulbari of Nepalgunj, he heard their saying, "this man says himself as a human rights defender and we have to finish him".
He could escape from
the scene by taking different roots.
In fact on the afternoon of
May 2, Mr. Lakhe accompanied
a widow whose husband was the victim of a forced disappearance, in order to assist her to file the
First Information Report (FIR) against the army commanders at the Banke DPO office. Despite the repeated requests and arguments made by Mr. Lakhe, the Banke DPO refused to register the FIR
of the widow on that day. On the night of the same
day the above
incident took place when
he was on the way back home. Meanwhile,
the FIR of the said case was
finally registered at the Kohalpur Area Police
Station in Banke district on May 4.
I am informed that Mr. Lakhe feels insecure and worries about his security due to the series
of these recent
incidents mentioned above.
I am suspicious that there might be a reason behind of this incident to discourage
Mr. Lakhe from doing human rights work.
I therefore strongly urge you to promptly order a thorough inquiry into the illegal house search by the
police on Mr. Lakhe's house and take action against those guilty officers if this allegation is found to be true. I also request you to conduct an investigation into
the attempted attack
on the victim by the unknown
persons on May 2 and arrest
those responsible as soon as possible.
I look for your urgent intervention into
this matter.
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Yagya Murti Banjade
Attorney General
Office of Attorney General
Ramshahpath
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4262582
E-mail: attorney@mos.com.np
2. Mr. Om Bikram Rana
Inspector General of Police
Police Head Quarters, Naxal
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 4412432 (Secretary to IGP)
Fax: +977 1 4415593
E-mail: ranaob@nepalpolice.gov.np or
info@nepalpolice.gov.np
3. Mr. Krishna Sitaula
Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Singha Darbar, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4211232
4. Mr. Kedar Nath Upadhaya
Chairperson
National Human Rights
Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 55 47973
E-mail: complaints@nhrcnepal.org or nhrc@nhrcnepal.org
5. SSP Mr. Binod Singh
Police HR Cell
Human Rights Cell
Nepal Police
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
E-mail: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np
6. Mr. Krishna Bahadur Mahara
Minister for Information and Communication
Singh Durbar, Kathmandu
Nepal
Tel: +977 1 4228333
Fax: +977 1 4266400
E-mail: moichmg@ntc.net.np
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals
Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
TAKE ACTION
NOW
.
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