Five burnt to death in barbaric Maoist attack
8-year-old girl among the passengers killed

By Krishna Bhandari

CHITWAN, Feb 22: In one of the most barbaric acts of violence, five persons, including an eight-year-old girl, were charred to death when the Maoist terrorists hurled petrol bombs on a night bus in Chitwan, police here said.

The Maoist terrorists stopped the night bus, plying from Kathmandu to Birgunj, at Bhandara at 4 a.m. Friday and hurled two petrol bombs which blew off the bus, the District Police Office (DPO) here said today.

This is the first such incident of violence where the Maoists have targeted the innocent civilians travelling in a bus.

A group of about 10 Maoists threw petrol bombs inside the packed bus (Na 2 Kha 4955) at Hardi area on the highway, about 25 kilometres east of downtown Narayangadh.

Four other passengers were seriously injured in the attack, the police said. The injured are presently undergoing treatment in the Bharatpur Hospital. Though there were 50 people in the bus, others managed to escape unhurt.

Those burnt to death in the brutal Maoist attack have been identified as Kajol Alam, 8, of Betiya, India, and Jahir Hussain Ansari, Sabir Miya Ansari, Jakir Ansari and Salman Ansari, all from Birgunj Sub-Metropolis-7 and 17, according to the police. The police said that all the bodies were charred beyond their recognition.

One of the travellers Asgar Ansari, an Indian national, said that about 10 rebels forcibly stopped the bus, and set it on fire. "They did not even allow us to get off the bus before setting the bust on fire," said Ansari. According to him, the bus was completely destroyed within half-an-hour because the fire fighters could not reach the site on time.

An injured passenger said that the Maoists first hurled petrol bombs and later doused the bus with petrol and torched it.

The bus started burning within the moment it caught on fire and the doors of the bus were locked from outside, he said. "The passengers could not jump off the burning bus even through the windowpanes of the bus," said Ansari, who was literally shivering when he narrated the incident. "I and some others, however, managed to skip off the bus by breaking the windows."

About 50 people, most of them Indian Muslims, were returning to their homes to celebrate the Id Ul Azah, one of the important Muslim festivals which falls on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the local administration clamped down a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Bharatpur Municipality on Friday and Saturday to ensure safety of the people and government’s establishments during the two-day nation-wide general strike called by the rebels.

Meanwhile, our reporter from Biratnagar said that a group of six rebels on Friday shot at a primary-level teacher, identified as Rewat Tumbahamphe, at Angjugi village of Kerabari VDC-6 in Morang, the police said. Tumbahamphe was shot dead in the premises of the school. His body was brought to the Kosi Zonal Hospital for the post-mortem today.

Maoists storm police post, kill 34 cops

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 22: In yet another audacious assault in less than a week, Maoist rebels stormed a police post at Shitalpati in Salyan district killing at least 34 police men including two inspectors on Thursday night.

This was the second such raid by the rebels after the attacks in the district headquarters of Achham and the nearby airport last Sunday which killed 143 security personnel and civilians.

The Maoists launched simultaneous attacks in different places of the district apart from the raid on the police post in Shitalpati to create confusion among the security men. They attacked the District Administration Office (DAO), the Narsingh Dal barracks at Simkharka, the army platoon at Khalanga and another barrack at Tharmare, said a security official. But other than Shitalpati, from none of these places, casualties or injuries were reported.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, the security official also said that the weapons used by the rebels were "very sophisticated" and were the ones looted from the army barracks in Dang and Achham. It is learnt that the rebels also used sharp-edged weapons during the assault.

The battle at Shitalpati began at around 11:00 p.m. and lasted for one-and-half-hours. As soon as the rebels attacked the police post, the policemen lost contact with their headquarters in Kathmandu.

Shitalpati falls along the only road that joins Khalanga, the district headquarters, and is just 10 minutes’ drive from the headquarters. It is learnt that the RNA has been deployed in the headquarters but not at Shitalpati.

According to the Chief District Officer, Rudra Nath Basyal, those killed in Thursday’s attack included two inspectors, two sub-inspectors, three assistant sub-inspectors, eight head constables and 19 constables. The inspectors who died have been identified as Mohan Babu Pandey and Ram Bandhu K.C. Nine other police men were also injured in a clash, who were airlifted to Nepalgunj for treatment.

The condition of four of the injured is learnt to be critical, said Basyal in a telephonic conversation with The Kathmandu Post.

Basyal also said that the rebels were seen fleeing in groups to different places–Barla, Luham, Paklabang, Kavra and Kalimati–after a night-vision helicopter was sent from the capital as reinforcement.

There were no casualties on the Maoists’ side, according to one local, on condition of anonymity. He also said the rebels fled the scene with looted communication sets and some guns.

The local resident also said that a fresh lot of security personnel along with two helicopters were sent to the site from the headquarters and adjacent districts. He said that if a delay had occurred in sending the reinforcement, the Maoists could have destroyed the entire village.

He said that the helicopters that arrived at around 9:00 p.m., were seen busy carrying the dead bodies of the security personnel.

The situation now is completely normal after a massive air and land patrolling by army men, said reports from the district.

Meanwhile, report from Birganj said that a powerful bomb exploded at the premises of Birgunj Tax Office located in the middle of the city Friday evening. There was a stampede for sometime in the city but no casualty has been reported. The sound of the explosion was spread throughout the city.

FRHC issues order to govt

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 22: The parliamentary Foreign Relations and Human Rights Committee (FRHC) issued a strict order to the government today asking it to take all the necessary steps to ensure fair implementation of the emergency.

It has asked the Prime Minister to immediately issue an order as per Article 115.7 of the Constitution defining the emergency rules. The state of emergency declared on November 26 was ratified and extended for three months by the parliament yesterday by a thumping majority.

The issues raised in the 18-point directives submitted by the Committee, however, have already been promised by the Prime Minister during his reply speech in the parliament on Thursday.

The Committee has asked Deuba to address the spirit of its directives in the orders to be issued by the government in the near future.

"An order on managing the state of emergency is inevitable since the emergency has been validated for another three months," said Surendra Prasad Pandey, President of FRHC.

In its 18 points handed over to PM Deuba on Friday afternoon, the committee asked the Prime Minister to set up special courts to decide on certain cases and make the necessary provisions for compensation of the victims.

Terrorist crimes come under the jurisdiction of these special courts, but as there is only one such court in the country, that too in the capital, petitioners find it difficult to access the provision.

As there were reports that arrested persons were being denied judicial hearing due to lack of special courts, the Committee also ordered Deuba to assure right to criminal justice as envisaged in the constitution.

"Since Article 14 of the constitution has not been suspended, the government should ensure the right to criminal justice to the citizens whether involved in criminal activities or not," said a directive.

The Committee also urged Deuba to put a stop to extra-judicial killings which have taken place according to some reports. "PM Deuba has pledged before us that he will do everything in his power to stop such killings if they indeed did take place," said Pandey.

The Committee also expressed its concerns on reports of doctors and other health practitioners being harassed by the security personnel. "The rights of the health practitioners should be protected anyhow."

The Committee also asked the state to compensate adequately the innocent dependent members of the person killed or arrested even as it asked it to stop torturing innocent relatives of the person involved in criminal activities.

Deuba has also been asked to make the security personnel aware of protection of human rights, and also to lift curbs over the press so that it is self-controlled.

The directives also stressed the formation of all-party committees at all levels to address all kinds of political issues including surrender of the Maoists, identification of the persons killed and recognition of the displaced persons.

The committee also wanted Deuba to ensure the right to property as envisaged in the Constitution except in the case of structures in public land.

Meanwhile, a cabinet source said that the government is presently carrying out its homework for issuance of the emergency orders, which are likely to be finalized in the cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday.

Valley comes to a standstill on bandh day

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 22: One person was seriously injured when a bomb planted by the Maoist terrorists exploded at Mitra Park in Chabahil this morning, the police said.

Apart from this incident, the first day of the two-day Nepal Bandh passed off peacefully in the valley.

The bomb was hidden inside a garbage container and it went off when the sweeper Hem Bahadur Rai went to collect the garbage at around 8:30 in the morning.

Rai becomes the first civilian victim of the Maoists in the capital after they raised armed revolution against the government six years ago.

The victim, who hails from Trisuli, Nuwakot is currently residing at Chabahil. Rai lost all his fingers on both the hands.

The group of doctors of the Bir Hospital, who operated Rai’s hands, said, "It was one of the critical operations we did till now." The operation took more than six hours and a group of six doctors took charge of the operation.

The doctors in duty at the hospital said that Rai’s condition is very critical. Rai is presently kept at the post-operative ward of the hospital.

"We have operated both his hands and stomach," the doctor said, requesting anonymity.

The Valley virtually came to a standstill, as almost all the business entities, educational institutions and offices remained closed throughout the day. Besides, few taxis and tempos, all the public vehicles were off the road.

Though the Maoists did not publicise about the Bandh, most of the people remained indoors due to fear and feeling of insecurity.

"We tried to open our shops but gave up after feeling insecure," said Parvati Sharma, a shop-owner who runs a readymade clothe store at Ratnapark in downtown Kathmandu.

The government offices were open as usual, but a very few people visited these offices for work.