NEPAL: A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by army soldiers from the Eastern Pritana Headquarter, Itahari

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from local human rights groups that a 16-year-old girl (name withheld) was gang-raped by five army soldiers from Eastern Pritana headquarter, Itahari on 10 November 2004. It is also reported that after being raped, the girl was threatened by the army soldiers with their guns that she would be killed if she were to tell anyone about the incident. Even though the girl’s father lodged a complaint to the Area Police Office in Dharan, no serious investigation into this case has yet been taken.

During the ongoing conflict between the Nepalese government and Maoist armed rebels, the situation is so grave and urgent that by every passing hour people are disappearing, being tortured, raped, or killed in Nepal either by military action or by opposing Maoist counteraction. These gross human rights violations against innocent people must be stopped now. 

The AHRC calls for you urgent intervention into this case. Please urge the government of Nepal to launch an immediate and impartial investigation into this case and arrest and punish the responsible army personnel accordingly. Please also urge the government authorities to take strong and genuine measures to prevent violence against civilians by the security forces. 

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: 16 years old girl (name withheld), resident of Bharaul Village Development Committee (VDC)-5, Sunsari District 
Alleged perpetrators: five army personnel from the Eastern Pritana Headquarter, Itahari
Date of incident: 10 November 2004
Place of incident: Bharaul VDC-5, Sunsari District

Case details: 

The victim, a 16-year-old girl, was gang-raped by five army soldiers from the Eastern Pritana Headquarter, Itahari on 10 November 2004.

On 9 November 2004, about 45-50 army officers from Eastern Pritana Headquarter stayed overnight in Nadaha (Western part). On the following morning (November 10), the officers came to Bharaul-5, Bishalchowk, Bhaluwachauri village. Two of the army soldiers were in civilian clothes while the rest of them were in army uniform. After coming to the Bhaluwachari village, one group took a rest, another roamed around the village and the remainder attended to their own work. 

On the same day (November 10), the victim’s father and mother went out to do farm work as per usual, leaving all of their five children at home. At around 9:00am, the victim (the eldest child) went towards the Sardu Khol River which is about 500 meters to the eastern side of her house. As the girl was walking towards the river, a group of 5-armed soldiers stopped her and ordered her to go with them. As the girl refused to do so, they then pulled her by her hands towards the jungle side and untied her drawstring. 

When the victim’s 7-year-old niece saw the incident, the soldiers chased her away threatening her with a gun. The girl was then taken to Jhosi (name of a place) where the soldiers forced her to the ground and proceeded to rape her one at a time. When she tried to scream and defend herself, they covered her mouth and continued to rape her. After raping her, the soldiers took the unstable girl to a nearby jungle at the back of her house and gave her 100 Rupees and a packet of noodles, and told her not to disclose the incident to anyone. They threatened that they would kill her if she ever were to tell anyone.  The soldiers then left. 

When the terrified girl rushed to her home, her younger brother saw her with blood all over her body. Then, the younger brother went to the field to tell his parents.  Before long, the neighbours and the villagers came to know about the incident. However, the soldiers had already left the village by then. 

All the villagers thronged to her house and when they saw the girl sleeping in a pool of blood, they bought some medicine at Kalabanjar Market and had her take it to control the bleeding. The next day (November 11), the girl was taken to the Dharan Hospital in the ambulance of a human rights organisation based in Biratnagar. Presently she is staying at a shelter of the human rights organisation where she is being kept under medical observation for her injuries. Doctors of Koshi Zonal Hospital have referred her to Psychiatrist Department, where she is undergoing psychological counselling for her ordeal. 

The girl’s father lodged a First Information Report (FIR) in the Area Police Office in Dharan on November 11.  However, no serious investigation into this case has taken place by the police. Indeed, the police have not even visited the site where the incident took place and because of this, any potential evidence may have been destroyed by now.

The AHRC is greatly troubled by such grave human rights violations by state security forces against the innocent people of Nepal. The AHRC strongly urges the government of Nepal to conduct an immediate impartial investigation into the incident and prosecute and punish the responsible soldiers accordingly. Proper compensation as well as full medical treatment should be provided to the victim. Furthermore, the AHRC urges the government of Nepal to guarantee proper protection to the victim and witnesses while the investigation is being conducted. 

STATEMENT BY THE WITNESSES:

1. The victim’s niece

“I was playing around with my friends. My elder aunt also came to us and we were together. Five army men came and one of them swayed her (the victim) and took her towards up in the jungle from riverside and started to untie her Ijar (drawstring). I was watching that and when they saw me, they brandished their gun on me asking me to run away. I then ran to my uncle and told him and my friend about that and then, returned to home after long time. After I ran away from them leaving my sister, the army who threatened me to run away gave me Rs. 5.” 

2. The victim’s younger brother

“The dressed army men came to the village in the early morning. They were cooking at the roadside in village. And I was watching them then. But suddenly my niece came and told me that someone took my sister to jungle. I asked where my sister was taken and my niece showed me the place. I went there but the army men showed me their weapons and threatened me. I came back out of fear, kept quiet for sometime and kept on watching the army men cooking food. I came back to home, some time later, I saw my sister coming towards house from jungle with her entire body spattered with blood. I realised that the army men did it to my sister. When I saw her condition, I was so angry and at the same time felt ashamed and fear. Then my sister went inside and slept in a room. After sometime many people gathered at home and then I went to call my parents. The army men had gone out of the village by then.” 

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or an email to Major General Sharma Thappa and ask him to take immediate action into this case.

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