Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received from the Advocacy Forum yet another torture case allegedly committed by the Parbat district police officers on 15 July 2008. The victim was arrested due to a petty offence but was subjected to a brutal torture which caused multi-fractures in his left arm. He was released the following day without any charges. The AHRC is gravely concerned that the victim has been receiving threats from his alleged torture perpetrators after he filed a case for compensation in the Parbat district court on August 1. We call for your urgent intervention into this case. Please write to the relevant local authorities demanding urgent protection for the victim.
CASE DETAILS: (Based on the victim’s testimony)
Mr. Kamal Pun, who is a 34-year-old permanent resident of Pakhapani Village Development Committee (VDC) no. 1 in Myagdi district, was arrested by five policemen of Beni Parbat Temporary Police Post (TPP) at a restaurant located in Majphat VDC in Beni city in Myagdi district at around 10pm on 15 July 2008.
According to Mr. Kamal Pun, in the evening of July 15, he was at a restaurant located in Majphat VDC, where he had a fight with a man named Mr. Kul Bahadur Karki of Arthunge VDC in Myagdi district, about a matter relating to a restaurant girl. Both men were reportedly drunk at that time. At around 10pm, five policemen from the Beni Parbat TPP, including Assistant Police Inspector (ASI) Nava Raj Poudel, Senior Police Constable Nilkantha Poudel, Constable Shahjan Chaudhari and Constable Bal Bahadur Gurung, came to the spot after receiving a report about the fight. They then began to beat Mr. Kamal Pun brutally on his thighs, arms, back and stomach with a bamboo stick and the gun-butt.
The police then took Mr. Kamal Pun to the Beni Parbat TPP where the police officers, including those mentioned above, assaulted him again with a bamboo stick and an iron chair for some time. His left hand was fractured and Mr. Kamal Pun fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, two policemen held him up and handcuffed him. He was taken to Myagdi District Hospital for a general medical checkup.
However, according to Mr. Kamal Pun, the doctor attending him only checked whether or not he was intoxicated. When he told the doctor about his fractured hand, the doctor only prescribed him painkillers. The police then took him back to the Beni Parbat TPP where he was detained overnight.
In the next morning, the police told Mr. Kamal Pun to settle the dispute with Mr. Kul Bahadur Karki and the restaurant girl. When they all made an agreement to settle the dispute, the police made them to pay NRS 500 (around USD 7.5) each for the broken iron chair that was used when torture was implicated on the victim. The police then released him without any charges.
Due to his severe injuries, Mr. Kamal Pun went directly back to Myagdi District Hospital and was hospitalized in the emergency section. An x-ray taken at the hospital showed that his left hand had multiple fractures. The doctor named Tripathi recommended him to go to Pokhara for further treatment. He went to Fishtail hospital of Pokhara where he was hospitalized until July 19. After he was discharged from the hospital, he visited the hospital for regular check-ups until July 22.
On July 24, Mr. Kamal Pun went along with his friends to the Myagdi District Police Office (DPO) to file a complaint against the responsible police officers regarding this torture. Instead of registering his complaint, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Ram Kripal Shah told the victim to go to the Parbat DPO to file his complaint, saying that the Parbat DPO was responsible for his case because he had been arrested by the policemen from the Beni Parbat TPP in Parbat district. The Majphat VDC is located in the border area between Myagdi district and Parbat district. The ASI Nawaraj Sharma, who was present there, then asked the victim for his forgiveness on behalf of all the policemen of the said TPP.
On the same day, representatives of different political parties in the area held a meeting to discuss the victim’s matter and concluded that the responsible police officers should make an apology to the victim in public and give him compensation money. However on July 25, the police failed to pay compensation to the victim.
On August 1, Mr. Kamal Pun finally filed a case for torture compensation under the Torture Compensation Act at the Parbat District Court with legal assistance from the Advocacy Forum. The respondents mentioned in his case are 6 police officers in total, including ASI Nava Raj Poudel, Senior Police Constable Nilkantha Poudel, Constable Shahjan Chaudhari and Constable Bal Bahadur Gurung attached to the Benni Parbat TPP.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kamal Pun has been receiving constant threats and intimidation from the police after filing the case against the responsible policemen in court. The AHRC received information that on August 12, some unidentified policemen from the Parbat Beni TPP threatened him to withdraw his case at the court. Similarly on August 15, the same group of unidentified policemen threatened him to withdraw his case again while he was returning from the local market. They intimidated him with abusive language saying that they would arrest him and charge him with various crimes if he would not withdraw his case. The AHRC has also learnt that on August 23, ASI Nava Raj Poudel of the Beni Parbat TPP called to the victim and told him, “Why did you file the case against me? Please withdraw the case.”
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the concerned local authorities listed below to express your deep concern about this case. Please also urge them to take appropriate action to ensure the police officers are held accountable for torturing the victim.
The AHRC has also reported this case in a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
NEPAL: A torture victim allegedly receives constant threats from the police in Myagdi district
Name of victim: Mr. Kamal Pun; aged 34; permanent resident of Pakhapani Village Development Committee (VDC) no. 1 in Myagdi district, Nepal; the owner of a small restaurant located in ward no. 1 Kotbhandar Beni, Arthunge VDC in Myagdi district
Alleged perpetrators: Six police officers, including ASI Nava Raj Poudel, Senior Police Constable Nilkantha Poudel, Constable Shahjan Chaudhari and Constable Bal Bahadur Gurung. All of them are attached to the Beni Parbat Temporary Police Post (TPP).
Place of torture: Beni Parbat TPP in Parbat district, Nepal
Date of incident: Allegedly tortured on 15 July 2008; allegedly received threats from the police on 12, 15 and 23 August 2008
I am gravely concerned by yet another torture incident reported from Nepal.
According to the information I received, a 34-year-old Kamal Pun was brutally tortured by the policemen of Beni Parbat Temporary Police Post (TPP) in Parbat district, after he was arrested for a petty offence at a restaurant located in Majphat VDC in Beni city in Myagdi district at around 10pm on 15 July 2008. The indemnified police officers are Assistant Police Inspector (ASI) Nava Raj Poudel, Senior Police Constable Nilkantha Poudel, Constable Shahjan Chaudhari and Constable Bal Bahadur Gurung. At the time of arrest, the police reportedly assaulted the victim on his thighs, arms, back and stomach with a bamboo stick and the gun-butt. After taking him to the Beni Parbat TPP, the policemen, including those mentioned above, assaulted the victim with a bamboo stick and an iron chair for until he fell unconscious. I was informed that the victim’s left hand was fractured due to torture.
I am also appalled by the doctor’s negligence involved in this case. I am informed that the police took the victim to the Myagdi District Hospital on the same night for a general medical checkup, but the doctor attending him only checked his status of alcohol intake. Although he complained of severe pain in his broken arm, the doctor merely prescribed him painkillers. The police then took him back to the Beni Parbat TPP where he was detained overnight.
The next morning, after the victim made a settlement with disputing parties, the police released him without any charges. The victim reported that the police made him and his disputing parties pay NRS 500 (around USD 7.5) each for the broken iron chair that was used for his torture.
An x-ray taken at the Myagdi District Hospital after his release confirmed multiple fractures on his left arm. Upon the doctor’s recommendation, the victim was hospitalized at Fishtail hospital in Pokhara for further treatment until July 19.
I am informed that Myagdi District Police Office (DPO) refused to register the victim’s complaint about the torture incident, when he went there on July 24. On August 1, the victim finally filed a case for torture compensation under the Torture Compensation Act at the Parbat District Court. The respondents mentioned in his case are 6 police officers in total, including ASI Nava Raj Poudel, Senior Police Constable Nilkantha Poudel, Constable Shahjan Chaudhari and Constable Bal Bahadur Gurung attached to the Benni Parbat TPP.
However, I am gravely concerned by the report that the victim has been receiving constant threats from the police since then. For example, on August 12, some unidentified policemen from the Parbat Beni TPP threatened the victim to withdraw his case from court. Similarly on August 15, the same group of unidentified policemen threatened him to withdraw case again, saying that they would arrest him and charge him with various crimes if he would not withdraw his case. On August 23, the victim again received a threat from ASI Nava Raj Poudel.
Under the circumstances, I request you to order a proper investigation into the victim’s torture incident and bring the responsible officers to justice as soon as possible. I also strongly urge you to take immediate action to ensure the victim’s security and investigate the alleged threats on him. The police officers threatening the victims should be identified and suspended from their job to ensure the victim’s security while the investigation into the victim’s torture incident continues. I would like to request that the Government of Nepal take speedy action to establish a witness protection mechanism in the country. The government should also enact a law that considers torture a crime so as to ensure that torture victims can seek legal remedies. Finally, I insist that the Torture Compensation Act be amended by with comply with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), to which Nepal is a state party.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. 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
2. Mr. Raghav Lal Vaidya
Attorney General
Office of Attorney General
Ramshahpath
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4262582
E-mail: attorney@mos.com.np
3. 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. Richard Bennet
Representative
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR)
Museum Road, Chhauni,
G.P.O. Box 24555,
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4670712 or 4670713
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
