विवाहको नाममा नेपाली चेली चीनमा तस्करी, ४ चिनियाँ सहित १० जना पक्राउ

विवाहको नाममा नेपाली चेली चीनमा तस्करी, ४ चिनियाँ सहित १० जना पक्राउ

प्रकाश ढुंगानाकाठमाडाैं भदाैं १३

लमजुङकी रिना (नाम परिवर्तन)लाई उनकै साथी अमृता गुरुङले अचम्मको प्रस्ताव गरिन। विवाह गरेर चीन जाने भए चाइनिज केटा खोज्दिन्छु। सुरुमा त उनी छक्क नै परिन् । उनले कसरी चाइनिज केटा खोजिदिने होला भनेर।

नभन्दै अर्को दिन पनि उनको साथीले त्यस्तै प्रस्ताव गरिन। उनको साथीले धेरै जना अन्य युवतीहरुको पनि चाइनिज केटासँग विवाह गरिदिएको र सुख पाउछेउ भन्दै उनलाई फकाइन ।

चाइनिजसँग विवाह गरेर गएपछि राम्रो कमाइ हुने,परिवारका सदस्यहरुलाई समेत चाइनिज केटाले आर्थिक सहयोग गर्ने प्रस्ताव आएपछि निम्न परिवारमा जन्मिएकी रिना विवाह गर्न तयार भइन। परिवार पनि राजी भयो ।

त्यसपछि अमृताले रिनालाई लमजुङबाट काठमाडौं ल्याइन।

ब्युटि पार्लर लगिन। नयाँ कपडा किनिदिइन। साँझ परेपछि टोखामा पार्वती गुरुङलाई भेटाइन्। पार्वतीले उनीहरुलाई छुट्टै फ्ल्याटमा लगेर राखिन्। आफु बसेको स्थानमा केही चाइनिजहरु आउने पनि गर्दथे।

लमजुङबाट आएको १० दिनमा नै उनको एक चाइनिज केटासँग विहे गर्ने पक्का भयो। केटाहरु उनलाई आएर बेला बखतमा भेट्न थाले। 

उनलाई सबै कागजात बनाउन अरुले नै सहयोग गरे। काठमाडौं जिल्ला अदालतमा गएर उनीहरुले कार्ट म्यारिज पनि गरे। भदाै‌ ११ गते रिनासहित २ युवती आफ्ना श्रीमानसँग चीन जाने पक्का भयो। उनीहरु त्रिभुवन विमानस्थल पुग्ने वित्तिकै मानव बेचबिखन ब्युरोले उनीहरुलाई नियन्त्रणमा लियो।

२ युवतीसहित २ जना चिनियाँ नागरिक पनि पक्राउ परे। हुवाइ चाइनाका क्यान ज्हान पेङ र क्विन लियाङ नेपाली युवतीसँग विवाह गरी चीन जान लागेका थिए। उनीहरुसँग सोधपुछ गरेपछि प्रहरीले थप २ जना नागरिकलाई पक्राउ गर्‍यो।

पक्राउ पर्नेमा जेङ छियाङ डोङ र ज्याङ डोङ हुइ थिए। जेङ छियाङ डोङ काठमाडौंमा बसेर काम गर्ने दलाल भएको प्रहरीले दाबी गरेको छ। अनुसन्धानलाई तीब्र बनाएको प्रहरीले टोखाबाट रिना तामाङ भन्ने बिबी रानीलाई नियन्त्रणमा लियो।

उनले भाषा अनुबादकको समेत काम गर्थिन। त्यसपछि कागजपत्र बनाउन सघाउने रोज तामाङ पनि प्रहरी फन्दामा परे। युवतीहरु राख्ने पार्वती र गाउँ गाउँ गएर युवतीहरु खोज्ने अमृता गुरुङ र भरत तामाङलाई पनि नियन्त्रणमा लियो। युवतीहरुलाई चिनियाँ नागरिकसँग भेट गराइदिने उषा कुमारी घिमिरेलाई पनि प्रहरीले पक्राउ गर्‍यो।

'गाउँबाट युवतीहरु काठमाडौं आएको हप्तादेखि १५ दिनभित्रमा चाइनिज केटाहरुसँग विवाह नै गर्ने गरेको भेटियो, त्यो सम्भव नै थिएन, हामी पनि छक्क पर्र्याैं,' मानव बेचबिखन ब्युरोका डाइरेक्टर एसएसपी इश्वरबाबु कार्कीले भने, 'शंस्कास्पद गतिविधी देखेपनि नै हामीले अनुसन्धान गहन गर्यौं ।'

युवतीहरुलाई मेकअप गर्न सिकाउने,भडकिलो पहिरन लगाउन उत्प्रेतरित गर्ने, अन्य एजेन्टहरु मार्फत बिवाह गर्न ईच्छुक चिनिया नागरिकहरुलाई प्रत्यक्ष र भिडियो कलमार्फत भेट गराउनेर चिनियाहरुले आफ्नो ईच्छानुसार युवतीहरु छान्ने गरेको उनले बताए।

बिवाह गर्ने युवती तय भए पश्चात चीनमा रहेको दलाल मार्फत चिनिया नागरिकहरु नेपाल आएर यहाँ रहेका चिनिया दलालसँग सम्पर्क गर्ने गरेको कार्कीले बताए। विवाहका लागि युवतीका परिवारलाई समेत बिभिन्न प्रलोभनमा पारि सहमति लिने गरेको,सम्भव भएसम्म हुनेवाला दुलाहासँग भेटघाट गराई बिवाह दर्ताका क्रममा साक्षीको रुपमा समेत राख्ने गरेको भेटिएको उनले बताए।

जिल्ला अदालतबाट कानुनी प्रकृयाहरु पुरा गरि बिवाह दर्ता परिवारका सदस्यहरुकै उपस्थितीमा बिमानस्थल सम्म पुर्याउन लगाउने गरेको समेत अनुसन्धानबाट खुल्न आएको छ।

एक युवतीलाई बिवाह गराए बापत चिनिया दलालले दश लाख सम्म, नेपाली दलालले १-२ लाख, युवतिहरु राख्ने नेपाली दलालले असी हजार, युवतिको अभिभाकलाइ ५०देखि ६० हजार दिने गरेको खुल्न आएको छ।

नेपाली युवतीहरु चीनमा लगेपछि त्यहाँ श्रम र यौन शोषण गर्ने गरेको अनुसन्धानबाट खुल्न आएको प्रहरीले बताएकोे छ।

नेपाली युवतीहरुलाई यसरी नै बिवाहको माध्यमबाट चिन र दक्षिण कोरिया पठाउने समुहका अपराधिहरुलाई २०७१ सालमा केन्द्रिय अनुसन्धान व्यूरोले पक्राउ गरि कानुन बमोजिम कारबाहि गरिएको थियो ।

नेपाली र चिनिया दलालहरुले गाँउ देखि चीनसम्म आफ्नो संजाल फैलाई संगठित रूपमा पैसाको लेनदेन गरि गराई बिवाह गराउने गरेको पाइएको कार्कीले बताए । 

प्रकाशित मिति: शुक्रबार, भदौ १३, २०७६, १७:२६:००

Discrimination against Dalits still rife

Discrimination against Dalits still rife, continue to be left out of decision-making processes

Marginalisation of members of Dalit communities still persists even though several laws and constitution bar discrimination.
Chandan Kumar Mandal

Published at : September 8, 2019

Kathmandu

Family members of Maya Bishwokarma, who was brutally murdered after being gang-raped, are slowly losing hopes of getting justice. Maya, who was involved in collecting household data from Gauriganga Municipality, Kailali, was gang-raped by five of her co-workers last year.

“She had repeatedly refused sexual advances of her co-workers, and they raped her and killed her. They must have thought that they were entitled to her body,” said Kamal Bishwokarma, her uncle in Kathmandu on Saturday.

Ajit Mijar, 18, originally from Pachkhal, Kavre was reportedly murdered after he married a woman from another caste. Within a week of their wedding, his dead body was found buried by the riverbank of Furke Khola in Dhading district. Even after three years of his death, the dead body still lies at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. According to his family members, Ajit did not commit suicide. They say it was a staged-murder.

The two cases are isolated. But what is common between these two cases are the victims are from the Dalit community.

“The culprits have been arrested, but conspiracies are going around to protect those arrested. The court hearing has already been postponed six times,” said Bishwokarma. “How long can we wait for justice? How long should her soul suffer? Is it just because she was a Dalit that the central government has maintained silence in Maya’s case?

Narrating similar pain and struggles for the justice for his son, Hari Bhakta Dhakal Mijar, father of Ajit, said: “Everyone seems unaffected because the son of a Dalit died.”

Despite strong legal protection against any discrimination based on caste, class, religion, region, and any other grounds, Dalit families like that of Maya and Ajit continue to face subjugation and discrimination—in society and also by the state— across the country, according to rights activists, Dalit leaders, political party leaders and civil society members.

According to Pradeep Pariyar, executive chairperson of Samta Foundation, at least 16 deaths have been reported in which victims were killed only because of their caste since the new Caste Based Discriminations and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act 2011 came into force.

“Dalits were at the forefront of the People’s War. They have died for various democratic movements of the country. They are discriminated and left aside by those in power,” said Pariyar. “Even after seven decades of Dalit’s struggle history, the Dalit movement has not yet gained the expected momentum although the democratic movement in the country has flourished in the same period.”

Participants at the event organised by Samata Foundation, who had assembled to discuss mainstreaming of Dalits in the state and their quest for dignity, said plights of Dalits have not yet improved the way it should have with the arrival of the new constitution in 2015.

According to Ramprit Paswan, a National Assembly member, Dalit’s marginalisation has been falsely blamed with their fate.

“Now, we have the best political system, but Dalit’s struggle continues to be same,” said Paswan. “Dalits are protected in the Constitution and other laws. If these laws are not followed, then that’s a crime. But the protector of the constitution—the state—itself practises discrimination.”

Jagat Bahadur Sunar Bishwokarma, Minister for Youth and Sports, admitted that the socio-cultural transformation of the country has not happened along the lines of the new constitution. However, the condition of the Dalits has improved in comparison to the past.

“The Dalit liberation movement is not in a disappointing phase now. But there are still incidents of caste-based discriminations and violence against Dalits, which is shameful for all of us,” said Minister Bishwokarma.

“The caste system has victimised other groups as well. Therefore, the whole Nepali society should come together to eliminate this system.”

Braj Ranjan Mani, an Indian scholar and writer on Dalit communities and their struggles, said educating people is the tool that will liberate Dalits, and they have started sharing their stories of struggles.

“History has not been written from the perspective of Dalits,” said Mani. “Breaking the imposed culture of silence, they have started sharing their stories which animate Dalit literature and have sprung up in all languages of the sub-continent.”

The country adopting the federal system has also not yielded expected results in terms of placing Dalits at the leadership level, say Dalit activists. Even those in power are unable to fully exercise their rights.

They pointed out that there is not a single Dalit minister in all the seven provincial governments and not a single appointment at the 13 different commissions. At the local level, only one Dalit mayor has been elected at a rural municipality and six at the municipality level.

According to Nira Devi Jairu, head of the joint parliamentary committee titled State Directives, Policy and Liability Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, political parties should give significant representations to Dalit and marginalised groups.

“Now, we don’t need yet another revolution to improve the condition. But improvement is required inside the political system and political party,” said Jairu.

According to Mani, the spread of education and political consciousness has been changing the structure of public discourse and public space.

“Despite these welcome changes, Dalits are still struggling to enter the crucial areas of knowledge production and policymaking,” said Mani. “More recently, Dalits are resisting the newer forms of caste hegemony, cultural tokenism and political co-option. Dalits are not merely an identity marker but also a metaphor for human suffering, human resilience and human resistance against the inhuman system. This metaphor signifies Dalit’s undying spirit to fight back and regain their stolen rights, dignity, liberty and property.”  

Chandan Kumar Mandal

Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife.

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/09/08/discrimination-against-dalits-still-rife-continue-to-be-left-out-of-decision-making-processes

The ruling party has failed in ruling

The ruling party has failed in ruling

It seems that constant infighting among ruling party leaders is severely disrupting governance.

Deepak Thapa

Updated at : March 5, 2020 07:32

It is a question that can and should legitimately be asked by all of us: Why does the entire country have to be on tenterhooks because of an internal party squabble that has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on any of the issues the country is grappling with. Yes, I am referring to the seemingly never-ending quest of Bamdev Gautam’s to return to power any which way he can, and the equally never-ending opposition to such a possibility by powerful sections of the ruling party.

If anyone wants to understand the chronology of this particular saga of Bamdev’s, the comment in setopati.com, ‘Bamdev Felled by the Two Chairpersons’ Assurances and Betrayals’, can prove a pretty comprehensive source. Gautam may be the main protagonist in that account but it is one that also lays bare the treacherous world of Nepali politics. There is no one in the story who stands out for anything resembling probity, driven as they all are by pure and simple self-interest. It is well known that Gautam, the recently inducted vice-chair of the ruling party, is haunted by the knowledge that he alone among his peers from the erstwhile Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) has not made it to the prime ministerial chair. Given that the remaining cast of characters in this drama are these same prime ministers, past and present, it provides for somewhat depressing reading as well. And depressing it was to read every morning, until this issue blew over, that the top honchos of the ruling party had been focused on outdoing one another in a game of political one-upmanship that would have no effect on us common folks.

Bamdev Gautam is not someone unknown to us, and nothing in his track record suggests his presumed prime ministership would be any better or worse than what we have experienced so far. During his first term as home minister and deputy prime minister in the mid-1990s, he tried his best to enact an anti-terrorism law aimed at controlling a still-budding Maoist insurgency, but that would also have seen our most prized fundamental rights at the mercy of the state. In fact, this same approach, which can be likened to someone with a hammer seeing nails everywhere, was also evident during one of his later tenures as home minister, when he made sure that all Kathmandu restaurants and nightclubs closed early—ostensibly in a bid to curb night-time crime. (Since this crackdown on nightlife coincided with the height of popularity in Nepal of the Indian yoga guru, Ramdev, a wit had then observed that life in Kathmandu had become onerous with Bamdev sending you to bed early and Ramdev waking you equally early.)

Claims have been made by his supporters about why it is essential for someone like him to be sent to Parliament. I have now come to agree with this line of thinking not because, as outlined above, Gautam is no miracle-maker, but because having him in Parliament would stave off unnecessary disruptions like the one the entire country had to experience together. Just as in hindsight, it was probably our bad luck that the other equally ambitious politician, the current Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, was forced to stay on the sidelines during the first Constituent Assembly (CA). The persona of the dog in the manger he adopted, Oli did everything he could to delegitimise the first CA and the progressive agenda of the time through actions such as encouraging the politicisation of the army, raising the ethnonationalist rhetoric to a fervour, and coddling India. He succeeded so well that there has been no public discussion about his India connections of the time and he has instead cultivated credentials that can only be called anti-India.

Despite the massive mandate to lead the country he has not been able to rise to the occasion, revelling instead in the petty politicking that brought him to prominence in the first place. To take one very unfortunate example, it is a wonder that for someone who has all the time in the world to conduct lengthy parleys to secure his own political future, he has just not found the time to fill positions in the different commissions the constitution has mandated to realise a more just and equitable Nepal. The ‘Other Commissions’ mentioned in the constitution are seven in number: National Women’s Commission, National Dalit Commission, National Inclusion Commission, Adivasi Janajati Commission, Madhesi Commission, Tharu Commission and Muslim Commission. Since the Oli government was formed more than two years ago, not a single commissioner has been appointed to either the National Women’s Commission or the National Dalit Commission (see screengrabs alongside for what their websites look like) while the other five were granted a Chairperson each but with no one else appointed to support them with their work (and the chair of the Inclusion Commission has since resigned).

Even if it is known that the latter five commissions were included in the constitution as a sop to these marginalised groups in the rush to pass the constitution through the second Constituent Assembly CA, one would have expected some kind of formality at least in terms of filling all the positions demanded. That these five commissions are an anathema to many in the ruling elite is no secret and the prime minister is no exception. But one does wonder why the women’s and Dalit commissions are having to bear the brunt of this antagonism even though they have been around since 2001. The prime minister could actually have filled all these positions had he sat down with cabinet colleagues instead of engaging in any one of those lengthy and meaningless diatribes he launched into without warning. Actually, that might have been possible even between the two birthday parties he found time to celebrate in Kathmandu and in his birthplace in Terhathum.

What jars is that Oli claims that he has no time to lose. That is partly because he says he is sick. Hopefully, the success of his second kidney transplant will enable the prime minister to see life in a different light and adopt a more generous attitude towards everyone—even Bamdev Gautam. For the country can scarcely afford distractions that have no rhyme or reason.

Deepak Thapa has been a fortnightly columnist with The Kathmandu Post since 2009, writing on a range of topical social and political issues.

https://tkpo.st/2TlwveN

Nepali women are being trafficked to China and sold as wives

Nepali women are being trafficked to China and sold as wives

Bride-buying is becoming increasingly prevalent in China, where men far outnumber women.
Shuvam Dhungana

Published at : September 9, 2019

Sunita Tamang said her mother was worried about her marriage prospects.

With a small income from farming, there wasn’t much room for the 22-year-old from Lamjung to consider marriage. That’s when she met Bharat Tamang, from the same town, who told her all about China: lucrative jobs, great facilities, and a red passport that she too could get if she married a Chinese citizen.

“I wasn’t convinced at first but he was persistent and I started to think that it could be beneficial, not only for me but also for my mother,” Sunita told the Post, recalling the conversation with Bharat, who would arrange her marriage with a Chinese man she had never even met. “I didn’t have any proper work to do here, so I agreed.”

Bharat took Sunita to meet a woman, who convinced her that this was a good opportunity for her. The woman then brought her to Kathmandu, where they stayed at the Tokha home of a family. Sunita was introduced to Rina Tamang, who spoke fluent Mandarin. Over the next ten days in Tokha, Rina showed Sunita photos of her potential groom on social media.

“She arranged a meeting with the man, who had come from China to get married,” said Sunita. “The three of us met at BG Mall in Gongabu and after some conversation with him, Rina told me to arrange all the required documents for marriage.”

Sunita never really spoke to the man, Qin Liyang of Hubei, but she agreed to marry him, based on the stories that everyone else had told her. After all the necessary documents were ready, she was given a ticket for August 28 and told to board the 4pm flight to Guangzhou en route to Wuhan in Hubei province. But at the last moment, Sunita got cold feet.

“I was afraid to go to a foreign country with someone I didn’t even know,” she told the Post. She turned her phone off, never boarded the flight, and returned home in Lamjung.

Sunita narrowly escaped becoming a victim of human traffickers’ latest method in Nepal, trafficking Nepali women, mostly from rural areas, to China by luring them into marrying Chinese men. When the women get to China, they are then sold to other Chinese men in a practice known as “bride buying”, according to the Anti Human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police.

On August 31, Nepal Police arrested 10 people from Tribhuvan International Airport on suspicion of trafficking. Among those arrested were Bharat Tamang, Rina Tamang, Amrita Gurung and Parbati Gurung—all involved in convincing Sunita to marry a Chinese man—in addition to four Chinese nationals and two Nepali women they were taking along as their wives.

“Our investigations led to the rescue of five women—two from Lamjung and one each from Sunsari, Chitwan and Kaski,” said DSP Sudheer Raj Shahi of the Anti Human Trafficking Bureau.

This was the first instance of “bride buying” since 2015, when police had rescued six women from similar situations—five were being sent to South Korea and one to China. This time, all women were headed to Hubei, a small land-locked province in central China.

“At her home in Tokha, Parbati would give girls training on becoming a perfect bride to Chinese men while Rina worked as a middle-woman since she spoke both Nepali and Mandarin,” said Shahi.

Chinese men pay around Rs 1.5 million to marry Nepali women, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Ishwar Babu Karki of the Anti-Trafficking Bureau. They also provide lavish gifts worth up to Rs 60,000 to potential brides, he said. This helps to convince the girls and their families that they will have a better life in China.

“Agents are able to convince families that their daughters will have a luxurious life in China. I was surprised to learn that one family had already sent their younger daughter and was in the process of sending their older daughter too,” said Karki.

China’s now-repealed ‘one-child policy’ has led to a grossly-skewed sex ratio, with more men than women. In 2015, the sex ratio at birth was 113.5 boys for every 100 girls. This gender gap has made it difficult for many Chinese men to find wives and has fuelled demand for women trafficked from abroad. Once the women reach mainland China, they are resold to other men looking for wives.

“In the past, the majority of women used to be trafficked into China from Cambodia and Vietnam but they have now tightened regulations. So now traffickers are targeting countries like Nepal, Pakistan and India,” said Karki.

Nepal’s Human Trafficking and Transportation Act 2007 does not limit trafficking to taking “a person out of the country for the purposes of buying and selling”; trafficking is also defined as “taking anyone from his/her home, place of residence or from a person by any means such as enticement, inducement, misinformation, forgery, tricks, coercion, abduction, hostage, allurement, influence, threat, abuse of power and by means of inducement, fear, threat or coercion to the guardian or custodian and keeping him/her in one’s custody or taking to any place within Nepal or abroad or handing him/her over to somebody else for the purpose of prostitution and exploitation.”

According to Anjana Shakya, chairperson of the Alliance Against Trafficking of Women and Children, if a person is taken abroad for one purpose and ‘used’ for another, that too may be defined as trafficking.

“Although Chinese nationals take Nepali women by following all legal processes, these women are at high risk of being used as sex slaves or unpaid labourers,” said Shakya.

According to a Human Rights Watch report on bride buying, “women and girls are typically locked in a room and raped repeatedly, with the goal of getting them pregnant quickly so they can provide a baby for the family. After giving birth, some are allowed to escape—but forced to leave their children behind.”

But because these Chinese traffickers are legally married to the Nepali women, it is difficult to establish a case for trafficking, said police.

“Their intention is wrong but they have all the required documents,” said Shahi. “However, we are still verifying the documents. We will submit our investigation report to the court and the court will decide whether to punish them or not.”

According to the Anti-Trafficking Bureau, those arrested admitted to having sent six women to China. Investigations are ongoing to ascertain just how many women have been trafficked similarly.

Shuvam Dhungana

Shuvam Dhungana is a crime reporter for The Kathmandu Post. He previously worked for The Himalayan Times and Republica.

Poverty forcing people to resort to begging

Poverty forcing people to resort to begging: Study

Published: March 17, 2018 9:20 am On: Kathmandu

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

• The study says begging is not their choice but compulsion. Poverty pushed them into begging

Kathmandu, March 16

A recent study conducted by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare has shown that a majority of people beg on the premises of temples in and outside the Kathmandu Valley due to poverty.

“Though poverty forced a section of these people to resort to begging to feed themselves and dependents, many of them are living with family. They camp outside the temples from dawn to dusk and reunite with their family in the evening,” the findings of the study reveal.

In some cases, physical disabilities, senility and poor health conditions have also pushed the deprived and excluded people to beg outside the temples. The study shows that a person earns Rs 150 to Rs 500 daily from begging. “Some of them were found to be making even up to Rs 2,000,” the findings say.

The study claimed that most of them refused the government’s offer of rehabilitation. “Instead, they wanted the government to support them as they were not able to meet their living costs. Begging is not their choice, but compulsion and family poverty pushed them into begging,” it says.

The beggars sleep in religious rest houses, tents, street and rented rooms, and some are alone and don’t have supporting hands for their mobility. With a sample size of only 65, the study team had interviewed them using structured questionnaire to confirm their socio-economic, physical and mental condition in 2017. The study said they were deprived of their right to live a dignified life.

Of the interviewed, 18 persons said they earned up to Rs 150 a day while 14 others said they made a daily average of Rs 151 which was too little to even feed themselves, not to mention their dependents.

At least 46.15 per cent of them are from the hill followed by 38.46 per cent from the Tarai and 15.39 from other countries.

Mountain people were not seen begging on the temple premises. Similarly, a whooping 83.07 per cent are married.

The study has recommended that the concerned authorities provide income generation activities to those who have been begging due to poverty and make an arrangement of shelters for helpless and incapacitated.

A version of this article appears in print on March 17, 2018 of The Himalayan Times.

Law to protect victims, witnesses need of hour

Law to protect victims, witnesses need of hour

‘VULNERABLE SHOULD BE RELOCATED AND THEIR PRIVACY PROTECTED’

Published: November 14, 2019 8:22 am On: Nepal

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

Kathmandu, November 13

Reports of murder accused Mohammad Aftab Alam’s men using threat, coercion and intimidation to make victims retract their statements highlight the need for a comprehensive law to protect the rights of victims and witnesses.

Alam faces charges of throwing 19 people, including Rautahat residents Oshi Akhtar and Trilok Pratap Singh, who were injured in bomb blast alive into a nearby brick kiln in Rautahat’s Rajpur Farhadwa on the eve of 2008 Constituent Assembly elections.

Yesterday, Gaurishankar Chamar, who said he was injured in the same blast and was treated in India after the incident, told media outlets that he was kidnapped by Alam’s men and forced to retract his statement.

Oshi Akhtar’s wife, Amana Khatun, recently was forced to file an application in Rautahat District Court saying that her husband had gone to a foreign country for employment before the blast and he had not returned home since then.

Talking to THT, a senior advocate, who specialises in criminal law, rued lack of adequate laws to protect crime victims and witnesses, forcing them to often retract their statements or refuse to depose against criminals.

“In the USA, witnesses are often moved to other states and their and their family members’ names are changed to protect them from criminals who could target them for deposing against them,” the lawyer said.

He added that during Maoist conflict a Scandinavian country had taken a Nepali citizen, who was a witness to a murder committed by Maoist rebels. The country who offered the Nepali witness its passport said it would give him a changed name to protect him from those who could pose threat to him and if Nepali authorities wanted to cross examine him they could do so through video conference.

Lawyers said similar measures needed to be adopted in Nepal to protect victims and witnesses.

There is no mechanism in Nepal to provide security to witnesses and people don’t believe that the government will be able to provide them security.

Chairperson of Constitutional Lawyers’ Forum Raju Prasad Chapagai said victims, who were also witnesses, had constitutional right to get justice but due to lack of adequate legal mechanisms and guidelines they had not been able to enjoy their constitutional rights. “Often victims and witnesses of serious crimes, including organised crime and rape, are threatened and intimidated. There are real and perceived threats against them and the state must provide security to these victims,” he added.

A comprehensive law to protect victims and witnesses is yet to be enacted.

Chapagai said the government should have an ad hoc mechanism to provide security to victims such as Amana Khatun and Gaurishankar till it adopted comprehensive measures to deal with the security threat that victims and witnesses faced across the country.  “If victims of crime face security threat, they should be relocated and their privacy should be protected. If they need financial help, the government must be ready to provide it,” he argued.

Spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General Sanjeeb Raj Regmi said there was need to enact a comprehensive law to protect victims and witnesses. “At present we have Crime Victim Protection Act, but that appears to deal only with victims and not witnesses. The support measures that this act talks of also indicate such measures are only for temporary period, but a victim may face threat for long time,” he added.

He said the Government of Nepal needed to talk to Indian authorities to protect Gaurishankar Chamar, as he is an Indian citizen.  Rautahat Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Khatri said it was a sensitive case and his office was discussing plans to provide security to victims and witnesses of the murder case. He said police were concerned about the security of Amana Khatun and Gaurishankar Chamar and would do the needful.

A version of this article appears in print on November 14, 2019 of The Himalayan Times.

प्रहरीमा चाहिएको वैज्ञानिक वृत्तिविकास

प्रहरीमा चाहिएको वैज्ञानिक वृत्तिविकास

फाल्गुन १, २०७६ सम्पादकीय

नेपाल प्रहरीमा कायम ३० वर्षे सेवा अवधिका कारण मंगलबार तत्कालीन प्रहरी महानिरीक्षक (आईजीपी) सर्वेन्द्र खनालसहित, तीन प्रहरी अतिरिक्त महानिरीक्षक (एआईजी) र १८ प्रहरी नायब महानिरीक्षक (डीआईजी) ले एकैसाथ अवकाश पाए । सबै एआईजी सेवानिवृत्त भएपछि प्रहरीभित्रको पदसोपानमा तेस्रो श्रेणीमा रहने डीआईजीबाट सोझै आईजीपी बने ठाकुरप्रसाद ज्ञवाली । यसरी एआईजीको अनुभवबिनै फड्को हानेर संगठनको मूल नेतृत्वमा पुग्ने उनी एक्ला होइनन् ।

यसअघि खनाल र प्रकाश अर्याल पनि डीआईजीबाटै आईजीपी भएका थिए । यस्तो परिपाटीले प्रहरीमा नेतृत्व विकासलगायत थुप्रै समस्या उत्पन्न गरेको छ । त्यसैले डीआईजीबाटै नेतृत्व चयन हुने/गर्ने प्रथा अन्त्य गर्नमात्र होइन, पूरै संगठनलाई गतिशील बनाउन पनि प्रहरीमा वैज्ञानिक वृत्तिविकास प्रणाली लागू हुनुपर्ने देखिन्छ ।

प्रहरी नियमावली–२०७२ अनुसार आईजीपी ३० वर्षे सेवाबाहेक ५८ वर्ष उमेर पुगे वा चार वर्षको पदावधि पूरा गरेसमेत अवकाशमा जान्छन् । एआईजी र डीआईजीको ५६ वर्ष उमेरहद र ५ वर्षे पदावधिको सीमा तोकिएको छ । यस्तो व्यवस्थाका कारण अधिकांश प्रहरी अधिकृत सेवा अवधि समाप्त भएर अवकाशमा जाने गरेका छन् । २०४८ सालमा भित्र्याइएको र पछिल्लो समय कायम राखिएको ३० वर्षे सेवा अवधिका कारण प्रहरी संगठन र मुलुकलाई धेरै हिसाबले हानि भइरहेको छ । कार्यक्षमता भएका अधिकृतहरू उमेर छँदै बाहिरिने गरेका छन् । व्यवस्थित वृत्तिविकास योजना नभएकाले अनुभव भएका अधिकृतहरूको ठूलै डफ्फा एकैपटक बाहिरिँदा संगठनमा नकारात्मक असर पर्ने गरेको छ । जस्तो, मंगलबार अवकाश पाएका २२ अधिकृतहरूको अनुभव २२ किसिमकै हुन सक्छ, उनीहरूले फरक–फरक विषयमा विज्ञता हासिल गरेका हुन सक्छन्, जसको अभाव संगठनमा नपर्ला भन्न सकिँदैन ।

वर्तमान अभ्यासले नेतृत्व पंक्तिमा अस्वाभाविक रिक्तता सिर्जना गर्छ । यसको प्रत्यक्ष असर नियन्त्रण शृंखलामा पर्छ । माथिल्लो तहको जिम्मेवारी बहन गर्न सक्ने क्षमता तल्लो तहका अधिकृतहरूमा विकास भइसकेको हुँदैन । अर्कातिर, बढुवा प्रणाली भद्रगोल भएकाले पनि समस्या थपिने गरेको छ । बढुवासम्बन्धी नियमित पात्रो छैन, कतिपय पदमा एक वर्षदेखि यससम्बन्धी निर्णय भएको छैन । कुन पदको बढुवा कहिले गर्ने भन्ने कुनै ठेगान छैन । प्रहरी संगठन तथा गृहप्रशासनलाई आफ्नो मान्छेलाई अगाडि ल्याउनुपर्ने भए जुनसुकै बेला बढुवा हुन्छ, नभए महिनौं रोकिन्छ । यसो गर्दा वरिष्ठ र कनिष्ठ व्यक्ति एकैपटक उही पदमा बढुवा हुने स्थिति छ, जसले नियन्त्रण शृंखलाको प्रभावकारितामा ह्रास ल्याउँछ ।

नेपाल प्रहरीजस्तो संवेदनशील निकायको कुनै पनि पदमा क्षमतावान् र अनुभवी जनशक्ति नहुँदा त्यसको असर शान्ति सुरक्षाका कार्यमा समेत पर्छ । वैज्ञानिक वृत्ति विकास प्रणाली नहुँदा रिक्त पदमा नियुक्त नयाँ अधिकारीको वैयक्तिक क्षमता त्यही ढंगले विकास नभएको हुन सक्छ । गत वर्ष सर्वोच्च अदालतले तीन महिनाभित्र कुनै पनि रिक्त पदमा बढुवा गरिसक्नुपर्ने नजिर स्थापना गरेको भए पनि त्यसको पालना गरिएको छैन । अर्कोतर्फ, ठूला पदहरूमा बढुवा अलि छिटो–छिटो हुने गरे पनि तल्ला तहमा त्यो भएको देखिन्न । नागरिकसँग जोडिएर काम गर्नुपर्ने पदहरूको वृत्तिविकास व्यवस्थित नहुँदा त्यसको मनोवैज्ञानिक असर उनीहरूको काम र

मनोबलमा पर्छ, जुन उनीहरूले नागरिकसँग गर्ने व्यवहारमा नकारात्मक ढंगबाट झल्कन सक्छ ।

मुलुकको सरकारी सेवामा नेपाल प्रहरी र सशस्त्र प्रहरीबाहेक अन्यत्र ३० वर्षे प्रावधान छैन । राष्ट्रिय अनुसन्धान विभागलाई प्रधानमन्त्री कार्यालयमातहत लगिएपछि गत वर्ष उक्त विभागबाट ३० वर्षे प्रावधान हटाई पदावधि र उमेरमात्रै कायम गरिएको छ । प्रहरीमा भने यस्तो व्यवस्था राखिरहनु भनेको सरकार र गृहप्रशासनले यी संगठनहरूमा खेल्न पाउने आधारलाई जीवित राख्न खोज्नुमात्रै हो । यसबीचमा बनेका केही आयोगले यो व्यवस्था हटाउन सुझाव पनि दिएका छन् । तर, कहिले हटाउने र कहिले राख्ने काम भइरहेको छ । पछिल्लो पटक २०६६ सालयता यो व्यवस्था कायम छ । यस्तो नीतिगत अस्थिरताका बीच स्वयं प्रहरी नेतृत्वमा पनि दोहोरो चरित्र देखिने गरेको छ– उनीहरू अलि तल्ला पदमा हुँदा ३० वर्षे सेवाका पक्षमा हुन्छन् भने जिम्मेवारीमा पुगेपछि विपक्षमा उभिन्छन् । यसखाले तमाम विकृति अन्त्यका लागि प्रहरीमा वैज्ञानिक वृत्तिविकास प्रणाली लागू गर्नैपर्छ ।

भर्ना र बढुवाको पात्रो नियमित गर्न, कार्यसम्पादनका आधारमा मूल्यांकन पद्धति बसाल्न र राजनीतिक शक्तिकेन्द्र धाउने प्रवृत्तिलाई निरुत्साहित गर्न पनि यस्तो व्यवस्था आवश्यक छ । पदावधि र उमेरहदका आधारमा सेवानिवृत्त हुने व्यवस्था भएमा अनुभवीले स्वाभाविक प्रणालीबाट अवकाश पाउँछन्, नेतृत्वको अविच्छिन्न विकास हुन्छ । उमेर र कार्यक्षमता भएका अधिकृतहरू बेलैमा अवकाशमा जान बाध्य नभए समयअगावै उनीहरूलाई पेन्सन सुविधा दिनुपर्ने भार पनि राज्यलाई पर्दैन । त्यसैले संगठनको समग्र विकासका लागि वृत्तिविकास र अवकाश नीति व्यक्तिलाई हेरेर होइन, पद्धति बसाल्नका लागि बनाइनुपर्छ ।

प्रकाशित : फाल्गुन १, २०७६ ०८:०७