NEPAL: Kanchanpur district police refuse to take action on the alleged murder of a woman

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned with the deliberate negligence of the Kanchanpur district police in the murder of a woman, who was allegedly murdered by her husband on 6 June 2008. According to information received from the National Alliance of Women’s Human Rights Defenders (NAWHRDs), the police delayed in registering the First Information Report (FIR) and refused to register it under the victim’s father’s name. To date, the husband is still free and no serious investigation has been conducted by the police.

CASE DETAILS:

Ms. Laxmi Bohara, aged 28, died in the Mahakali Zone Hospital on 6 June 2008, after her husband Mr. Tek Raj Bohara allegedly beat and then poisoned her. Laxmi Bohara is a member of the Women’s Human Rights Defenders Network (WHRDN) in Kanchanpur district, Nepal and resides in Champapur, Ward No. 8, Daji Village Development Committee (VDC) in Kanchanpur district, Nepal.

According to information received, Ms. Laxmi Bohara, on the morning of 6 June 2008, was rushed to hospital by her husband Mr. Tek Raj Bohara, after she was allegedly beaten and then forced to take poison (Selfos) by her husband. She died around 10:30am on the same day, while being treated in the hospital. Upon hearing of his wife’s death, Mr. Tek Raj Bohara immediately fled from the hospital. It was reported that there were bruises all over her body. According to the WHRDN, the 6-year-old daughter of Ms. Laxmi Bohara said that her father severely beat her mother the whole night.

After learning of the death of Ms. Laxmi Bohara, her father went to the Kanchanpur District Police Office (DPO) and tried to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against his son-in-law regarding his daughter’s death on the same day. However, the police told the father that they would delay in registering the FIR for 13 days saying that the husband should perform the “ritual”. According to Hindu culture, the body of a deceased person has to be cremated by a male member of the family who should perform the “ritual” for 13 days. The police told the father that the husband could not perform the ritual if the FIR was registered as it was against Hindu religious practice. The victim’s body was cremated after the 13 days ritual.

However, the NAWHRDs later found that the police had unaccustomedly registered the FIR not under the name of the victim’s father but under the name of one of the family members of Mr. Tek Raj Bohra (the husband). In these circumstances, there is a huge risk that an investigation would not be initiated into the case if the family of the husband withdraws the FIR. Even if the FIR is not withdrawn, it is also highly questionable whether the police will conduct a proper investigation, because the complainant in this case belongs to the alleged perpetrator’s family.

The NAWHRDs also informed us that they found that the post mortem was conducted on the victim’s body in the Mahakali Zone Hospital by Dr. Khagendra Bhatta, a cousin of Mr. Tek Raj Bohara (the husband). He then submitted a post-mortem report which mentioned that Ms. Laxmi Bohara died of poisoning and ‘minor’ bruises found on her body.

Some women human rights defenders then went to meet Mr. Kisan Chand, District Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the DPO to demand an immediate and proper investigation into the case. However, at the meeting the DSP was very aggressive toward them. The DSP also told them that he was not afraid of anyone and there would be no difference in the case even if the women held a protest on the streets. On June 7, he even ordered his junior officers to drag the women human rights defenders from his office if they came there to meet him again regarding the case. After finding serious problems in the FIR, the women human rights defenders went to meet the Chief District Officer and demanded that he instruct the DSP to register a proper FIR. However, the Chief District Officer also showed no interest in this case saying that registering the FIR does not fall under his mandate and was not his responsibility.

Meanwhile, Ms. Laxmi Bohara’s father went to the Kanchanpur DPO to register the FIR on June 10 and 11. The police told him that they cannot register the FIR regarding his daughter’s alleged murder case, without strong legal evidence. In any event, the police act violates the State Cases Act which clearly mentions that the police should register any complaint lodged by a citizen of Nepal and initiate an investigation. Finding evidence proving a crime falls under the police’s mandate and the burden of proof should not fall on the complainant. Besides, the conducting of the postmortem in this case is not the ethical obligation of the Nepal Medical Council Act.

The police have not taken any serious action in investigating this case to date and the husband is still free.

Ms. Laxmi Bohara was married to Mr. Tek Raj Bohara for 12 years and was the mother of their 3 children, a 12-year-old son, a 6-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old son. Her mother-in-law Ms. Dhana Devi Bohara lived together with the family in the same house.

The NAWHRDs reported this case to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Mission In Nepal (UNMIN) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). They also held protests in the district demanding accountability on the part of the police regarding proper investigation of the case and justice for Ms. Laxmi Bohara. (Photo 1 and Photo 2)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Ms. Laxmi Bohara was an active health rights volunteer and the Secretary of the Women’s Empowerment Centre. Her husband and her mother-in-law did not like her involvement in this social work and constantly harassed her. They accused her of talking with men outside, which is against Hindu culture and they suspected that she might be engaged in sexual enticement of men while doing her social work. It is reported that her husband regularly assaulted her. He even threatened to throw her out of the house.

According to Sharda Chand, the Secretary of The Women’s Human Rights Defenders Network, 10 days before her death, the husband threw Ms. Laxmi Bohara out of the house and she had to take shelter in the home of her friends. She went back home after the husband agreed that he would not beat her again.

Kanchanpur district is known to have the highest number of cases of violence against women in Nepal, particularly domestic violence involving their dowries. For example, in this area, there still exists the practice of Chaupadi, a long-standing practice which prohibits women from staying in the house when they have their period. The women’s rights defenders are reportedly facing serious threats (including death threats), attacks and even intimidation from the government officials and their own family members.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the concerned authorities listed below and urge them to ensure the immediate and proper investigation of this case, the arrest of the alleged perpetrator and strong action against police officers who deliberately neglected their duty.

Please be informed that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women calling for an intervention in this matter.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER