NEPAL: Police abandon the investigation into the gang rape of an 11-year-old Dalit girl

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police in Nakatajhij, Dhanusa, have been negligent in investigating the double rape and murder of an eleven-year-old Dalit girl. Though there is strong evidence against two non-Dalit youths, the victim’s family reports resistance from police in filing and investigating the case, which has not reached court. Officers have reportedly been backed by local political party members and are pressuring the girl’s family to settle the case. There are no comprehensive laws to protect minorities and low-caste persons in Nepal and their lack of access to justice sees them regularly victimised. This case features the most vulnerable kind of person in the country–a female Dalit child–and only strong, decisive action will show that the government takes the protection of its citizens seriously. 

CASE DETAILS: 

According to the information we have received from the victim’s family and local NGOs, Runchi Mahara was 11 years old (though logged as 13 in her school register) and a Dalit. She was found raped and murdered on 1 September in a mango orchard; her clothes were near her naked body and there was a belt around her neck. 

The details of her death came to light in the media after supporters of the two accused boys warned the victim’s family against making it public, and a fact finding team was established, which included the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), Lawyers’ National Campaign for Elimination of Caste Discrimination (LANCAU), the Dalit Welfare Organisation (DWO) and Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organization (NNDSWO), led by the Dalit NGO Federation (DNF). They report that the police were reluctant to file a First Information Report (FIR), but did so and arrested one of the suspects, Mr. Dharmesh Yadav, under mounting pressure. Police reportedly found semen and blood stains in Yadav’s clothing, and his mother identified the belt that was found around Runchi’s neck as his. Despite this, he was released, no case was filed in court and police have shown no signs of investigating further. Local activists have reported that local ruling political party members have been supporting the families of the accused, and that Runchi’s family are being pressured to settle the case. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

There are currently no laws in Nepal designed to protect religious minorities or low-caste Dalits from discrimination. Crimes against them are not often taken seriously, and in some cases perpetrators have received popular support, which encourages further violations. Please take a look at past cases reported on by the AHRC, including UAC-124-2009, in which a teacher was fired for fighting prejudice in schools, UAC-038-2009, in which a Dalit woman was beaten and forced to eat human waste, and UAC-150-2008 in which three young Dalit girls were severely tortured by police. 

In this case the victim is from the most vulnerable group possible – a female Dalit child – and especially strong decisive action is imperative to show that Nepal’s government takes the protection of its citizens seriously. This incident shows no regard for or awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nepal has ratified. 

Nepal is a party to various international human rights treaties that reject the inherent discrimination of the caste hierarchy and it has responsibilities under international law to protect the rights of all Nepalis, regardless of their social origin, property, birth or any other kind of status. The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Nepal to take the opportunity, as it creates its new, democratic constitution, to rectify this grave omission and to pass a domestic law that criminalises discrimination of any kind, in particular that based on caste. Anti–Dalit sentiment must be tackled among police and the judiciary, and those guilty of it should be removed from positions of authority and made to face legal sanctions. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below urging them to ensure a thorough investigation into Runchi’s murder, and to take disciplinary and legal action against those shown to have impeded the case so far. Please join us in calling for the introduction of strong anti-discriminatory laws in Nepal. 

The AHRC is also sending a letter to the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and to the Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

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