Loot in valley for the third consecutive day

By Jitendra Sah

KATHMANDU, June 26 ; An armed group of looters shot a man in his house at midnight on Wednesday and looted valuables, at Siddhipur VDC-5, Lalitpur. This is the third consecutive day that organised loot occurred in the capital.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Suresh Bikram Shah of Lalitpur Police Office, a group of 15 masked men, with arms, shot Keshar Bahadur Rai, 35, and looted Rs. 10,000 in cash, a mobile set, and 4 tolas of gold. The looters were carrying knives, pistols and metal rods.

When Rai resisted, he was shot in the arm. The looters fired three rounds of gunshot. Rai’s father, mother, wife and daughter-in-law were also present in the house while the incident occurred. While Rai is being treated at Patan Hospital, six people suspected of being involved in the loot have been arrested as a result of a search operation started by the police.

The last few days have seen a marked rise in armed loot in the valley. On Monday, two unidentified individuals with arms, looted over Rs. 150,000 from Thamel’s Best Money Exchange House, after injuring the owners with bullets and khukuri. Similarly, on Wednesday, masked men looted Rs. 80,000 from Bhagawati Sapkota who was returning home in Bouddha after drawing the cash from Nepal Bank Ltd., Chabahil branch.

According to Valley Crime Investigation Branch, Hanumandhoka, three incidents of loot are recorded every day in the capital. Meanwhile, worried by daily loots, locals have initiated efforts to safeguard themselves. Residents of Kirtipur of Kathmandu, Changu Narayan of Bhaktapur, and Sainbu residence area of Lalitpur have hired security guards.

In the last six months, over two hundred and fifty cases of loot were recorded in the capital and over hundred people were arrested in similar incidents.

Meanwhile, sources at the Home Ministry disclosed that necessary homework is underway to provide 500 secret police officers for containing security situation in the valley. These officers will be deployed in civilian dresses.

"The government is concerned about increasing crimes in the valley," said Home Ministry spokesperson Gopendra Bahadur Pandey. "The secret force will be deployed soon." Currently, over 1,500 police officers are deployed in capital. Even while working up to 17 hours a day, they still amount to one officer per 800 citizens.

Govt to extend Rs. 83.2m grant for HSEB

KATHMANDU, June 26 (PR) - The government is not phasing out the Proficiency Certificate Level from the Tribhuvan University (TU). It has also agreed to provide Rs 207,600 as grants to each of the public higher secondary schools to improve their standards.

The joint press statement issued here by Education Ministry, the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) and the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) stated that the government has agreed to provide grants of Rs 83.2 million.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting between the HSEB and the ANNISU-R, on Wednesday night. The meeting also agreed not to phase-out Proficiency Certificate Level from the Tribhuvan University (TU).

The HSEB agreed to form a taskforce, incorporating students as members, to fix a fee ceiling on private higher secondary schools. Both parties were of the view that control was necessary, in what they described as ‘commercialisation’ of education.

The students in private higher secondary schools will not pay any other fees in schools except the monthly tuition fee. "Even this fee will be recommended by the committee," the statement added.

Drop-in centre for drug-abusers

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KATHMANDU, June 26 : To mark the International Anti-Drug-Abuse Day, a drop-in centre for drug users or rehabilitated drug-users was opened today. Sangati De-addiction Extended Care Centre will provide information, support, treatment options and referrals to local rehabilitation centres for any problem related to drugs.

Sangati, which stands for Social Action for Narcotically-Grieved And Terminally- Impaired, is part of the community-based Bishnumati Corridor (Kathmandu) Area Development Programme, of World Vision International. The programme is being implemented in partnership with St. Xavier’s Social Service Centre, which has been operating since 1970 and involved in drug rehabilitation since 1983.

The De-addiction centre is located at Nagpokhari next to Elites Co-ed School. "Clients who have completed drug treatment at existing rehabilitation centres are given the option to enrol in extended care," said Fr. Bill Robins, Director of St Xavier’s Social Service Centre.

The centre will help schools, colleges, parents and community leaders develop and implement policies to reduce student problems related to drug use and resultant behaviour problems. "We also support awareness programmes in schools, colleges, community-based campaigns, enforcement and treatment referral," said Fr. Robins.

Sangati will provide extended care planning for transition of rehabilitated- drug users into society. Furthermore, services to families will also be provided. For instance, getting family support when a person enters drug rehabilitation, drug abuse prevention and HIV/AIDS Education in drug-using populations will be provided.

Sangati will also provide space for the meeting of Narcotic Anonymous (NA) groups. NA is an international, community-based association of recovering-drug addicts. Members of NA share their success and challenges in overcoming active addiction and living drug-free productive lives.

Book on corruption launched

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KATHMANDU, June 26 : The second edition of "Bhrastachar ko Salyakriya" (Anatomy of Corruption) was released today.

The book divided into 16 titles deals with corruption, irregularities in bureaucracy for the past twelve years. The new edition has included the irregularities occured in the past one year also. Hari Bahadur Thapa, the author of the book, said that he tried to explore the stark reality of the society, viz, severe poverty and unemployment.

A press statement issued during the book release function said that democracy is at crisis. "It is because of the corrupt activities of the leaders that democracy fell into serious crisis," the statement added. The book was released by Yubraj Ghimire, the editor of The Kathmandu Post daily.

Former justice urges parliament reinstatement

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KATHMANDU, June 26 ; Laxman Prasad, former justice of the Supreme Court, who drafted the new constitution, has stressed the need for the reinstatement of the dissolved parliament.

He was speaking at an interaction programme on ‘Trail of human rights violations: Continuation of leniency’ organised by Human Rights and Peace Society to mark an International Day in support of Torture Victims.

He argued that as the government had failed to hold elections on time, it was necessary for the government to reinstate the parliament as per the demands of five agitating parties.

"Article 127 of the constitution has been grossly violated. The appointment of the new Prime Minister is unconstitutional," he said adding that the constitution has simply been treated as a doormat.

Meanwhile, intellectuals and human rights activists today strongly criticized the state agencies for blatantly violating human rights in the country by largely resorting to various types of torture.

They claimed human rights and rule of law are being violated by politicians, security forces, the judiciary and administration to the utter neglect of constitutional provisions that guarantees protection of human rights.

Speaking on the occasion, Lilamani Pokharel, a leader of United Peoples' Front Nepal accused the King of violating constitution and said the five parties are bracing for agitation from Ashar 20. Sindhunath Pyakurel, the president of the Nepal Bar Association, said it is an irony of Nepalese law that those responsible for torture get state protection.

Meanwhile, an interaction programme was also held on conflict-affected victims at the National Human Rights Commission.

Association formed for Nepalese jailed abroad

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KATHMANDU, June 26 : International Campaign on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons -Nepal, a private organisation has been constituted with a view to help Nepalese citizens facing sentences abroad under various criminal charges, reads a statement issued by the newly-formed organisation today.

Although a majority of Nepalese have been found incarcerated in Malaysia, India and Thailand, others have also been found in Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen. A considerable number of Nepali expatriates are also working in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Cyprus, Belgium, Canada, USA, UK, Japan and Korea under exploited circumstances, making them vulnerable to psychological and mental stress.

According to the statement, Nepalese sentenced under foreign laws and governed by their local penal jurisdiction in a strange land have been in solitary confinement without access to family, friends or relatives and deprived of opportunities for social and religious practices.

In some extreme cases, it has been reported that they may have been given sentence more severe than they deserve. In some countries, they face false charges on racial grounds while in other cases they are undergoing injustices forced to accept the verdict of courts for crimes they have not committed.

"It is absolutely necessary to transfer those sentenced persons to their country of origin through adoption of international and bilateral arrangements and humanitarian agreements between the sentencing and administering states that should be carried out with the consent of the concerned inmates," the statement further said.

The organisation also urges the government to initiate a process for the ratification of the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons as an expression of humanitarian sensitivity towards the plight of untold sentenced persons. Over 50 countries have already ratified this convention.

Hearing on NSP concludes

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KATHMANDU, June 26 : The hearing on the Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) concluded today with three remaining representatives of Mandal faction presenting their explanation at the Election Commission.

On the fourth day of hearing, senior advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandari, advocate Laxman Lal Karna and Devendra Mishra of the Mandal faction pleaded that all the Mandal faction’s decisions were made as per legal procedures and demanded that NSP (Mandal) be recognised as the authentic NSP.

Bhandari said that the acting party president, Badri Prasad Mandal, ordered to delete the names of three people, including Anandi Devi Singh, from the list of convention representatives as they did not fulfil the required criteria.

"They could have lodged an official complaint and had enough time to do that," Bhandari said. "But there was no formal complaint whatsoever."

The party had split into two parallel factions after a dispute flared up over party leadership at the time of party’s fifth convention held in Rajbiraj last April. Both the parties later held separate conventions and elected separate working committee.

Laxman Lal Karna, vice-president of the Mandal faction, argued that authority to call a working committee meeting according to party statutes solely rests with the party president. He may, however, delegate that power to the vice-president in his absence. "Since the Anandi Devi faction violated this rule, their convention cannot be recognised as authentic."

The Anandi Devi faction will respond to the questions raised by the opposition on Friday.

Nepali girls rescued from Indian circus

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BIRATNAGAR, June 26 : Rupa Tamang, a resident of Biratnagar Sub-Municipality-20, is very happy to have her two daughters back home after being rescued from the Apollo Circus in New Delhi by ABC Nepal. However, the mother of the two girls is ailed to know that they have returned without any earnings.

About eight years ago when the family was going through financial crisis Rupa, the mother of the girls, had handed over her daughters to the proprietor of the circus who provided her with Rs. 4000 in advance assuring to give her daughters a monthly salary of Rs. 3,000 each in addition to the free food and lodging.

ABC Nepal is the organisation which came to the rescue of Rupa’s two under-aged daughters along with 21 other girls of Morang district from the Indian Circus. The ABC Nepal branch in Morang today handed over the girls to their respective families.

It is learnt that with the joint effort of the ABC Nepal and Prabashi Nepal Maitri Manch, 14 girls belonging to Makwanpur, and 21 girls belonging to Morang district within the age group of eight to 26 years of age were rescued from the Apollo Circus at Mujafarnagar.

According to information provided by the chairman of ABC Nepal, Durga Ghimire, and these girls who had been working in the circus with the consent of their families, they had to be rescued in order to emancipate them from oppressed labour and sexual exploitation that had been going within the four walls of the circus discreetly.

One of the rescued, Lakshmi Shrestha says, in order to make some money and assist her family during the economic crunch she had been left at the mercy of the circus people four years ago by her parents. But she could not make any earning even though she had worked very hard. She had lost hope of ever returning home and says that she is happy to be back home. She said that they used to get just Rs. 5 at the end of a hard day’s work and nothing had been provided to her as promised by the owner earlier.

Another victim an eight-year-old Meena of Belbari-4 in Morang narrates how she had been beaten up by the owner on many occasions.When she refused to work, and how they were forced to work from morning to night without rest and at the end of the day she was given Rs. 5 as her earning.

It is learnt that some of the girls had been deported to the circus by their parents, while the brokers lured majority of them into it. According to the chairman of ABC Nepal Ghimire, these girls were being sold at Rs. 50,000 to 60,000 per head to the proprietor of the circus without their knowledge. The broker on the other hand paid only Rs. 3,000 per girl to the respective parents and told them that he had found good jobs for their daughters that would entail them with big monthly salary.

This secret was divulged out when a broker engaged in this profession, Ganga Baral of Makwanpur, was arrested.

The ABC Nepal has decided to protect and provide skill and employment-oriented training to the rescued girls which would assist them in income generation, and also provide them work, reiterated the chairman Ghimire talking to The Kathmandu Post correspondent.

It is learnt that these girls could be rescued due to the joint effort from ABC Nepal, Prabasi Nepal Maitri Manch, and the Nepalese Embassy. All these girls were safely brought to Biratnagar through the entry point of Mahendranagar on Wednesday.

Two drown in swollen river

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BHAIRAHAWA, June 26 ; Thirty-two-year-old Devi Chaudhary and her seven-year-old daughter Deepa drowned yesterday while crossing the swollen Jharahi River in Hati Frasatikat Village Development Committee, according to police. Her another daughter Pratima, however, was rescued by people herding their cattle on the banks of the flooded river. They were trying to cross the river after finishing their work on their farm.

One dead in truck mishap

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MAHOTTARI, June 26 : One died while another was seriously injured when a truck loaded with wire bearing the number plate NA 1 KHA 2765, which was bound to Kathmandu from Itahari met with an accident on the Mahendra Highway near the Tuteshor jungle at around three today morning.

According to the Area Police Office of Bardibas, the 40-year-old truck driver has been identified as, Tilak Bahadur Lama, a resident of Ratmate in Hetauda municipality-1, while the seriously injured conductor of the truck has been identified as Sonam Lama, also a resident of Hetauda municipality. The injured is undergoing treatment at the Janakpur Zonal Hospital.

According to the information provided by the police, the probable cause of the accident was due to the drowsiness of the driver.

46 rhinos killed in RCNP last year

CHITWAN, June 26 (PR) - Officials of the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) said that 46 one-horned rhinos were killed alone in the park last year.

Shiva Ram Bhatta, the park’s Chief Conservation Officer, informed that 30 of them were killed by poachers for their horns while the rest 16 had died of various reasons - natural deaths, infighting among themselves or killed by tigers.

"Most of the endangered rhinos were found to have been killed inside the park area," said Bhatta, adding that 10 more were found dead during the last three months, beginning the second week of April till the third week of June this year.

A massive anti-poaching operation was launched and 175 people were arrested along with Rs 750,000 in cash after the record number of rhinos were hunted down for horns. Bhatta said that checkpoints have been erected and patrolling of the security personnel increased in the most vulnerable areas from where poachers are most likely to carry out their clandestine operations.

Thunder-bolt claims five in different parts of the country

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NARTI, Dang, June 26 : Thunder bolts that struck five different places in Dang has caused death of two women, one man, one domestic animal, while injuring two persons, and turning a house to ashes today morning.

According to the information provided by Ghanashyam Chaudhary, the husband of one of the deceased and a resident of Narti village in Sonpur VDC-1, his 22-year-old wife Rita Chaudhary succumbed to death when she was hit by a powerful thunder while she was working in her farm. Amar Chaudhary, her 15 month old son was injured during this incident and is undergoing treatment at the Primary Health Centre at Shishaniya.

Similarly, in another incident that occurred at around 10 am at Bankatta village today, a 32-year-old woman Belchi Chaudhary, a resident of Sundrabari village, is claimed dead. She was struck to death while she was at her parent’s place. The thunder-bolt had even converted their house to ashes.

Punaram Chaudhary, a resident of Falkapur in the same VDC, who was injured from the thunder-strike, is undergoing treatment at the Primary Health Centre in Lamahi, informed RD Shah, an employee of this centre.

Likewise, according to the information provided by the area police, due to thunder striking at Bhagwanpur in Shishaniya VDC, 21-year-old Gurudev Chaudhary, son of Dhaniram Chaudhary, was killed today morning.

Meanwhile, our reporter from Janakpur informs that a 55-year-old woman, Reshma Devi Kamat of ward-6 in Khajuri Chanha, was struck to death. According to the eyewitness, she was grazing her cattle when the thunder struck, which also killed her buffalo.

In another report from our correspondent in Mahottari, a 45-year-old farmer of Majhaura Bisanpur, Ramsaran Yadav, was charred to death by today evening’s thunder while walking down the road. According to the Assistant Inspector of Police, Ramhari Bista, Yadav was going to a mango orchid where he worked.

Similarly, three members of a family including 8-year-old boy was injured at Bardibas-3 today.

Rupandehi Industries Association celebrates silver jubilee

RSS

BUTWAL, June 26 : Rajparishad Standing Committee Chairman Parashu Narayan Chaudhari has said that if the struggle goes on even now, the independence of the country will be at stake.

Inaugurating a felicitation and prize distribution function organised here yesterday to mark the silver jubilee of the Rupandehi Industries Association, he said that at a time when people are desiring peace, it was improper for the main political parties to launch agitation.

Stating the country could not sustain the politics of confrontation any more, Chairman Chaudhari said that the need of the day for all the political parties was to make effort for the success of peace talks to bring the Maoists into the political mainstream.

Stating that the allegation of regression was false, he said that the present time is for peace and not conflict.

National Assembly member Ramchandra Bhattarai said that the national property should not be squandered in the pretext of liberalisation.

Reporter of daily "Nepal Samacharpatra" Yamlal Bhushal was presented the Outstanding Industrial Journalism Award-2058 and office bearers, founders and former presidents of the Rupandehi Industries Assocition were felicitated on the occasion.

Association president Paramanand Kharel presided over the function.