Gone Missing

Though Maoist rebels have freed a police officer after three months, hundreds of people like him are still reported missing

By A CORRESPONDENT

When abducted deputy superintendent of police, Thule Rai, returned to his parents on early Monday, everybody in his family was full of joy. It is because they had little hope that their son would return home safely from the Maoists' hideout. "I would like to thank the Maoists and all those who expressed their concern about the release of my son," said Shaharman Rai, Thule's father.

For officials, it had raised more questions than they could answer. Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka told the meeting of the House of Representatives the same day that security personnel have "found" DSP Rai after a massive search operation. "Rai has already reported to Police headquarters and rejoined his job," said Khadka. But he did not give any detail about how and when Rai was found.

Rai was abducted in a fierce battle when a group of about 300 Maoist rebels had attacked a police post at Mahat VDC in the remote mid-western district of Rukum on the night of September 22. Six policemen and a villager were killed and more than a dozen injured in the encounter. The rebels had also looted huge cache of arms, ammunitions and communication sets from the police post. Though police suspected that Rai might be responsible for serious lapses in the security at the police post, they could not locate Rai.

Within a week, general secretary of the underground Maoist party, Comrade Prachanda, said, in a statement, that Rai was safe in their custody and that they would treat him as per the Geneva Convention related to war prisoners. Prachanda also demanded that the government treat the Maoist rebels in police custody in a similar way.

In a surprise move, the Maoist party said on Monday that it had freed Rai on Saturday (Dec. 18) 'the day United Nations had passed a declaration against the practice of abducting people.] In a statement, Comrade Diwakar, western regional commander of the underground party, said that his party had decided to free Rai as per the declared policy of his party and requests from his family and general public. He claimed that there could be threat to the life of Rai from police and government machinery. Media personnel were denied access to Rai obviously to defend official version, which had many loopholes.

Reports said that Rai traveled all the way from mid-western town of Nepalgunj in a night bus escorted by abductors to the capital and reached home on Monday morning without being noticed by police. It was only after he contacted the Police headquarters that top officials knew about his whereabouts. The officials were tight-lipped till Tuesday about the circumstances related to Rai's release. They, however, denied speculations that the rebels in exchange of similar response from the Police had freed Rai.

Rai's safe return home has brought to fore cases of hundreds of people who are reported missing for the last couple of years. According to a report published by Informal Sector Services Center (INSEC), a leading human rights organization, on Saturday, more than 72 people, including 15 women, are missing from police custody and nearly 20 people are missing from Maoist custody in the first 11 months of this year. Compiled and edited by independent journalist, Lekh Nath Bhandari, the report said that the number of people missing from police custody have gone up after the police launched so-called "Kilo Sierra Two" operation against the rebels last year. The report said that those missing from police custody include lawyers, teachers, students and private citizens said to be sympathetic to the underground Communist party.

The INSEC report alleged the government of telling lies by not accepting that it ever took those people under its custody. The report also blamed the court of not being sympathetic to the cause of victims by simply accepting the government's version. The report said Maoist rebels have also abducted nearly two dozen people this year including a police officer. "Arresting or abducting people and not acknowledging them is a serious form of human rights violation," said Krishna Pahadi, a human rights activist. "Whoever commits such crime is deplorable. Both the government and Maoist rebels should stop such practice and honor the country's constitution and universal norms of human rights," he added.

"Even if the Maoists are resorting to violence it is the duty of the state to stop such practice and restore peace in the country," said Sushil Pyakurel, President of INSEC. Till now, similar calls by human rights organizations remained neglected by both the sides. The Maoist rebels have set an example by fulfilling their promise. Now, it's up to the government to take initiative to end the senseless killings of people.