<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b0b9c7e80680e06b278jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="641"/><figcaption>A doctor in Hima Village Council in Jamla collects swab of a patient on Tuesday. Photo: DHIRAJ GURUNG</figcaption></figure>After being in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unto-the-third-week-of-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lockdown now for nearly three weeks</a>, Nepal has started testing vulnerable groups in high-risk areas, but so far there have been no new COVID-19 positive cases. The numbers still stand at nine cases, one recovered and no fatalities.The government is focussing its tests on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">western Nepal</a> and tarai districts where there have been returning migrant workers from India. Although the border is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-and-india-stop-nationals-in-each-others-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed to be closed</a> it is still possible for people to slip through.So far 3,524 tests have been conducted all over the country. 630 new tests (samples mostly from Kathmandu Valley) conducted in the last 24 hours did not show any positive case. Of the rapid diagnostic results conducted in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Kavilvastu and Baglung districts this week, 516 have come out negative.However, over 800 samples collected from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">western Nepal</a> have yet to be tested at the National Public Health Laboratory in Kathmandu and public health experts are expecting the number of positive cases to climb over the weekend.At least 120,000 Nepali workers have returned from India without screening before both countries went into lockdown, and people from western region make up the highest number of returnees.“We have to assume there are more cases out there, especially in hotspots along the Indian border, and even in remote areas where migrants have moved back. Local communities and ward committees there are strictly monitoring residents for symptoms,” says Sameer Dixit, researcher at the Centre for Molecular Dynamics in Kathmandu.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Western Nepal potential COVID-19 outbreak</a>In Jumla, medical officers are on standby for a rise in the number of positive cases, as local officials move house-to-house to check if any new arrival has a fever. Families in quarantine and deemed to be at higher risk have been tested even if they do not show symptoms.“Many of those tested had recently come back from the most affected parts in India and we already have a case of local transmission in the country, so there may be some positives there,” said Dhiraj Gurung of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b0e9c7e80680e06b279jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3088" height="2056"><figcaption>A Nepal Army helicopter at Bayalpata Hospital in Achham district in western Nepal on Tuesday from where it collected 51 swab samples for COVID-19 tests. Photo: BIKASH GAUCHAN</figcaption></figure>Over 1,300 samples have been collected over the last two days from from Jumla, Achham, Baitadi and Dadeldhura districts in western Nepal. Some 324 oral and nasopharyngeal swab samples from three different locations in Jumla were collected on 7 April: 150 at Chandanath airport, 124 from Hima Village Council and 50 from Kanaka Sundari in Sinja.Another 232 samples were collected from Achham district, 199 from Dadeldhura and 425 from Baitadi. Recent returnees from India, their immediate family members and those in quarantine were prioritised for the rapid diagnostic tests. Samples were flown in Nepal Army helicopters to Nepalganj, from where collected samples are taken every evening by military plane to Kathmandu for testing.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Returnees maybe taking coronavirus to rural Nepal</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel and Sonia AwaleInitially, hospitals in western Nepal had collected only a handful of samples because there were not enough Viral Transport Medium (an equipment to transport the samples to the lab). Mass testing is now being carried out with 11 laboratories across the Nepal set up for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).The PCR amplifies tiny bits of genetic material in the sample, enabling the detection of the virus. But there has been significant number of false positive and negative test results since the outbreak.Rapid diagnostic test kits have been controversial because of their reported unreliability in Europe, but health experts here say they have 86%, and those testing positive will be tested again with PCR. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-to-test-covid-19-test-kits-from-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Chinese kits</a> are being used in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Baglung, Myagdi and Parbat districts for people in quarantine. The government has some 75,000 rapid test kits, and has dispatched 5,000 to each each of the seven provinces.In Jumla, KAHS has over 47 staff and 100 nurses on call and 10 adult ICU beds have been added in anticipation of new cases. In Achham, the district hospital has been designated as a COVID-19 only hospital. Province 5 is trying to procure 20 ventilators. But despite preparedness, hospital staff say the region’s rudimentary healthcare system will be overwhelmed if there is a COVID-19 outbreak. The Health Ministry is therefore mobilising medical students on scholarship programs and retired medics to assist to fight COVID-19.“We do not know the exact number of people who have returned from India and even less about how many of them have symptoms, and where they are. We have to continue to work in prevention and control as well as increase mass testing,” explains Bikash Gauchan of Bayalpata Hospital in Achham which has set up a fever clinic and a separate ward.Four months into the pandemic, Nepal has been largely spared with only handful cases and only one community transmission. Public health experts are puzzled by this, and say possible theories like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BCG vaccine immunity</a> warrant further investigation.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/could-an-anti-tb-vaccine-be-protecting-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Could an anti-Tb vaccine be protecting Nepalis?</a>, Prabhas PokharelThe main worry is the continued spread in India where there were 30 new COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 199. The case load in India have been rising at 567 per day.“There are sure to be more imported cases. But where are they? There is no severity, and only one community transmitted case. So something is going on,” says Sameer Dixit.Dhiraj Gurung who was involved in the Jumla testing said a larger than expected number turned up for the test, which may mean there are hidden cases. “But when we asked people to come for quarantine, very few showed up. This could mean there are individuals with mild symptoms, but there are not coming forward for fear of being ostracised.”The government has extended the nationwide lockdown till 15 April because it does not want families to gather for Nepal’s New Year Day on Monday. Experts say partial lockdowns will continue in areas at higher risk, and international flights may have to be suspended for another two weeks after 30 April.Says Sher Bahadur Pun at the country’s infectious disease centre in Kathmandu: “We are already in the second stage of COVID-19 transmission and the next stage will be serious. We cannot be complacent, and our only chance of containing it is to stop hidden cases from infecting others with an even stricter lockdown.”

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Nepal extends COVID-19 testing but no new cases

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96839c7e80680e05dc6ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Planting bamboo and napier grass on embankments and sugarcane on riverbanks binds the soil and prevents flood damage.</figcaption></figure>Most research about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate impact in the Himalaya</a> deals with r<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eceding snowlines and retreating glaciers</a>. A lot less is known about how farmers are <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465" target="_blank" rel="noopener">managing with too much – or too little -- water</a> due to the changing climate.Irregular monsoons and extreme rainfall have made <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floods more destructive</a> in recent years, and the Tarai plains where more than half of Nepalis live is the worst affected area. Rivers here are changing course more frequently, submerging paddy fields and washing away homes.Disastrous floods in Sunsari (2008), Bardia and Surkhet (2014), Saptari and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-on-the-border-Nepal-India,3915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rautahat</a> (2017) and in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-2019-deluge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eastern Nepal earlier this year</a> killed hundreds of people and caused colossal damage. Damage from floods caused by extreme weather is exacerbated by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encroachment on floodplains</a> and road embankments that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">block natural drainage channels</a>.“Unlike in the past, when we used to have gentle showers every other day during monsoon, nowadays it does not rain for weeks and when it does, it comes down in destructive torrents,” says Bal Sugriv Rana of Shuklaphanta municipality in Kanchanpur. He points above his head to indicate the level that water reached in the great flood 11 years ago that forced farmers to abandon the village.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination in the Nepal Tarai</a>, Editorialhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1RqnrWMhBI&amp;feature=youtu.beFarmers have now returned to the village and are not waiting for government help, but taking their own measures to reduce the threat of future floods.With support from global humanitarian organisation <a href="http://nepal.mercycorps.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercy Corps</a> under its program Managing Risk Through Economic Development (M-RED), farmers like Rana in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts have reduced the risk of floods by planting bamboo and napier grass on embankments and sugarcane on riverbanks. Not only are they now better protected from future floods, the new crops are earning them important income. Mercy Corps is also a member of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, a global partnership which works to increase flood resilience throughout the world, including in Nepal.Sugarcane is so resilient it can grow in sandy floodplains, where its stem and roots can reduce water’s velocity and destructive force. The sugarcane plant can also survive for up to 10 days when flooding occurs.“They said I was crazy when I planted sugarcane in the sand, but it has reduced the severity of floods, the riverbanks are not barren anymore and we earn money with relatively little investment from the sale of the cane to the sugar factory,” explains Mangal Prasad Chaudhary of the village disaster management committee.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/migrants-return-home-to-do-commercial-farming,3929" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Back to the land</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ipcc-report-and-nepals-food-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ICC report and Nepal's food security</a><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96869c7e80680e05dc6fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In the nearby village of Tikili of Kanchanpur, villagers also plant pumpkin, watermelon, banana, squash and gourd after floods recede – taking advantage of nutrients deposited by flood waters -- which adds to their income. This has discouraged open cattle grazing, which in turn helps the vegetation to grow back and provide an additional layer of protection from the floods.Now that the river has been tamed by barriers of gabion walls, sugarcane, bamboo and elephant grass, the land is secure enough to plant paddy, vegetables and other cash crops.“We earn an extra Rs50,000 per year selling bananas, which has been quite helpful in running the household,” says Rajudevi Rana, 40, as she picks clusters of the ripening fruit from her family plot near the river.Most of the rain in Nepal falls in the three monsoon months from July-September, and the rivers are dry rest of the year. The climate crisis has made the problem of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/h20-shortage,3456" target="_blank" rel="noopener">too much or too little water</a> worse, but with the help of development organisations, farmers have learnt to adapt to the new weather pattern.“We did a lot of research to come up with the solution of combining flood risk reduction with income generation,” explains Saroj Kumar Thakur of Mercy Corps Nepal in Kanchanpur. “This is now a working model that can be replicated in other parts of the Tarai suffering flood risk.”Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-and-food,3916" target="_blank" rel="noopener">F</a><a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-and-food,3916" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ood and flood</a>, Sunir Pandey<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-on-the-border-Nepal-India,3915&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiGu5TMp_3lAhUkyzgGHbjHCUcQFjAAegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3VZjJ9mpZ7pD4WnyzXVIE9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Border wall</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a968a9c7e80680e05dc70jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a968d9c7e80680e05dc71jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">2008 flood and subsequent land cutting in Kanchanpur. Photo: RED CROSS NEPALIndeed, the Kanchanpur success story can easily be upscaled in flood prone districts like Rautahat, Sarlahi and Mahottari, which faced devastating floods in the recent years.The success of sugarcane, banana and vegetable plantations has even persuaded young farmers who had planned to go to the Gulf or Malaysia for work to change their minds. For Mayor Dil Bahadur Ayer of Shuklaphanta, this is a success story that his municipality can be proud of.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/migrant-worker-finds-farming-in-nepal-more-rewarding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Migrant worker finds farming in Nepal more rewarding</a>, Naresh Newar“Motivated farmers with the help of experts have managed to reduce the risk of floods by themselves -- they have achieved what the government could not,” he said. “Now we need to copy this elsewhere in Nepal by involving all three levels of government.”Ayer is also committed to tighten restrictions on <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/crushing-tale-of-Chure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal sand mining</a> upstream, which threatens to undermine the accomplishment of the villagers in reducing flood risk.Bhesh Parajuli of Mercy Corps says local governments are not allocating required resources for disaster risk reduction, spending most of their budget on infrastructure. He adds: “But even infrastructure needs to be disaster-resistant. With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/only-half-prepared/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federalism</a>, we now have to develop skills at local levels to respond to the floods.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96909c7e80680e05dc72jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><h2>Back to the land</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96939c7e80680e05dc73jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1123" height="2000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Harvest time is a busy period in Lalitpur, a farming village at the Indian border in Kailali district. Women harvest paddy, men load sacks of rice for the market in Dhangadi, children on holiday from school tend ducks by the river, while goats and cows graze lazily on the stubble.Looking at it today, it is hard to imagine that Lalitpur village was once completely abandoned. Families had to flee for their lives in 2008, abandoning their homes and farms when the river burst its banks. They did not return for 10 years.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dancing-with-the-river/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dancing with the river</a>, Ramesh Bhusal“It was a like a sea. The flood started in the morning and continued until midnight and later -- it rained all night. There was so much water. I went back and forth on a boat rescuing the children and women,” recalls Gayadin Chaudhari, who was 30 at the time.The Tharu people here are used to floods, and have learnt to live with them. But the 2008 disaster was like nothing they had seen before. A wall of water nearly 2m high suddenly entered the settlement -- many lost their loved ones. Homes were washed away, food destroyed, livestock drowned and water sources were contaminated. The farms were covered in sand and silt, forcing villagers to relocate.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96969c7e80680e05dc74jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Now, the farmers have returned and they are determined to prevent a similar in the future. Supported by Mercy Corps Nepal and the Nepal Red Cross, they plant crops along the riverbanks that both help prevent flooding and have good commercial value, including bamboo, sugarcane and napier grass. Villagers are organised in a commune and plant and harvest sugarcane together, pooling the profits from the collectively-owned fields.“There will be floods in future, but they will not be able to affect us as much as before because of the bio-engineering of the embankment,” says Chaudhary, whose family is among 22 that have returned to Lalitpur.But just in case, the village also has an early warning system. A monitoring station upstream circulates an SMS warning when the river water crosses a danger mark.Chaudhary’s share of the profits from the sugarcane and vegetables is now over Rs150,000 annually. Over the years the commune has used its profits to buy farm equipment, including a tractor, a power tiller, disc plough and a thresher.“This is a community that has successfully bounced back from disaster. The farmers live here without fear,” says Saroj Kumar Thakur of Mercy Corps Nepal. “We now want to build the capacity of the villagers so that they can manage on their own after the project ends, not just with floods but also other risks like wild elephant attacks and disease.”Sonia Awale in Kailali

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Nepal villages cope with climate-induced floods

<figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a237c9c7e80680e0417eejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Dharna at Mahendranagar in front of CDO office, Nirmala Panta's step-mother, Laxmi, at center.</figcaption></figure>Six months after the unsolved rape and murder of her daughter, the stress is beginning to show on Durga Devi Panta. Her face is taut, her wrinkles deeper, but there is the fire of determination in her eyes.As protests over the crime escalated last year, Durga Devi’s estranged husband Yagya Raj, his second wife and their son have also joined the campaign for justice, raising some eyebrows. Yagya Raj has shown signs of  psychological instability, and Durga Devi said he nearly strangled her recently.Laxmi and Yagya Raj, ostensibly under pressure from the opposition Nepali Congress, do not want Durga Devi to accept the compensation of Rs1 million from the Central Government and Rs500,000 from Province 7. Durga Devi herself does not want to be tangled in the politics, and says the compensation money would at least help her take care of her two daughters.Laxmi and Yagya Raj say they do not want Durga Devi to take the compensation for Nirmala’s death since they do not want it to affect the fast-unto-death by Govinda KC, since one of his demands is justice for Nirmala. Women’s groups and homemakers from all class and backgrounds campaigning for the case in Dhangadi, Kailali and Mahendranagar last week shared their frustration with the police's inability to solve the crime. The protests has also become politically polarised, with the opposition NC and other parties using it to embarrass the NCP government.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/daughters-rape-drives-father-to-insanity/">Daughter’s rape drives father to insanity</a>, Sewa Bhattarai <figure><img width="1280" height="957" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a23809c7e80680e0417efjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure> Nirmala was a studious 14-year-old and the second of Durga Devi’s three teenage daughters. After her husband left her for another woman 12 years ago, the four lived in a simple house amidst fields on the outskirts of Mahendranagar in Kanchanpur.The crime has become a national issue because of Police bungling the investigation, and not being able to find the guilty. It has become the focus of country-wide protests by human rights activists, was featured in the international media and has now even got a Wikipedia entry.   “My daughter is gone, but I want justice for her, and also my remaining two daughters to have a safe and good life,” says Durga Devi with a faraway look.Nirmala Panta had joined a study group in the house of her class mate Roshani Bam after school on 26 July last year. When Nirmala did not return home, Durga Devi had become frantic, and went to Roshani’s house to look for her daughter. Her body was found the next day 500m from Roshani Bam’s house in a sugarcane field owned by police inspector Jagdish Bhatta, who has now been suspended for tampering with evidence.Read also<a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-delayed-and-denied/">: Justice delayed and denied</a>, Sewa Bhattarai Province 7 Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta denied that Police had destroyed evidence. He told Nepali Times: “All the evidence, including the vaginal swab of the victim, are safe with us. It will take time but we will crack this case soon in coordination with the Centre.”Meanwhile, the Women Human Right Defenders of Kanchanpur and Kailali districts with other activists and independent women’s groups are continuing with their relay hunger strike at the Chief District Office in Kanchanpur.  Sitting under the tent last week was Nirmala’s step-mother Laxmi Panta with activists from Kathmandu, including Sabitri Subedi, who staged the ‘petticoat campaign’ in Kathmandu. There is much mutual suspicion even among the activists groups and muttering about each others’ motivations. “Nirmala’s case is now so muddled that we do not know what will happen to the investigation,” says Nirmala Bagchan of the Women Human Right Defenders. Sabitri Ghimire of the Dalit Women’s Right Forum in Kailali accuses the Police of deliberately destroying all evidence to protect powerful interests.The rights groups appeared to be fatigued by infighting and frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation. Conspiracy theories swirled about a cover-up by senior officials of the provincial government and Police officers allegedly involved in the crime. Why else would the Police destroy evidence, delay the investigation, frame an innocent man, detain the Bam sisters then take them to Kathmandu, and now ask the father and mother to provide DNA samples?Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/">Four-fold increase in reported rape in 10 years</a>, Sewa BhattaraiSuperintendent of Police Kuber Khadayat claimed there had been eight cases of rape and five of attempted rape since the Nirmala case, and all have been solved. He said Nirmala’s case happened before he assumed office, and exuded confidence that it would be solved “soon”.The infighting among activists and the politicisation of the human rights groups helps the government, which can now blame “politics” for its failure to find the culprit. However, the real victims here are Nirmala’s mother and sisters who need the truth and justice.Namrata Sharma is the Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal.

Crime and politics

<figure><img width="1333" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171136/636934969c7e80680e03e004jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>When Durga Devi Panta poured her husband some water, he thanked her like she was a stranger, shook hands with her and asked the reporter to take a photo. Photo: Sewa Bhattarai</figcaption></figure>Nepal was shocked by the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta in Kanchanpur on 26 July, but with the crime unsolved and the perpetrators still at large the news has faded from the headlines. However, Nirmala's parents have been taking part in a sit-in outside the Kanchanpur District Headquarters here in Mahendranagar. Two weeks into the protest, Nirmala's father Yagya Raj Panta started showing signs that the strain was taking its toll on his mental health.On Saturday morning, Yagya Raj was showing increasingly erratic behaviour and the family decided to take him to Kathmandu for treatment, with the help of the government. His wife Durga Devi Panta and other relatives managed to take him to Dhangadi airport, but he was too aggressive and could not be pacified to board the plane. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republic of rape</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four-fold increase in reported rape in 10 years</a>, Sewa Bhattarai“His behaviour became quite aggressive, he started abusing people and vandalising the place, the airline refused to let him board,” said Sharada Chand, who was among the human rights activists with him. Chand was herself hurt when Yagya Raj started acting violent at the airport. His wife Durga Devi and some relatives then set off for Kathmandu by road with him. On the morning of 24 November, Yagya Raj Panta was jumping at noises, shooing away visitors, and he looked very agitated. He was aggressive towards strangers, pointing at bags and asking if there were bombs in them, claiming there was a conspiracy to murder him. Activists tried to pacify him, and when Durga Devi Panta poured her husband some water from a thermos flask he thanked her like she was a stranger, shook hands with her and asked people around him to take a photo. Exactly 117 days after his daughter was raped and murdered, it is clear that Yagya Raj Panta had lost his mind. He not only tried to take off his clothes, but also beat and scratched people who came near him and some of them needed to have their hands bandaged. The videos people have taken of him have gone viral on social media. Nirmala Panta went missing on July 26, and her body was found thrown in a sugarcane field near her home. The inability of the Police and the Home Ministry to resolve the issue, their attempt to destroy evidence, frame an innocent person with the crime and what looked to many like a case of the Police trying to protect the criminals, has outraged her family and human rights activists. They said the mental strain was too much to bear for Yagya Raj Panta, and he snapped. The deceased Nirmala's family members are increasingly concerned that they are losing not just one but two persons to this tragedy. Yagya Raj’s sister Bhagirathi Bhatta says she has lost hope for her brother: “My niece is already dead and gone, but my brother is alive. I doubt if we will still have him, if this stress continues." She has also been spending the cold nights at the sit-in in an open tent across the road from the District Headquarter building. There are some pillows, mattresses, blankets, and an electric line from which to charge mobiles and heat up water in kettles, and not much else. Photos of the deceased Nirmala line the ceiling, walls and surroundings.“Ever since this protest started, he has not been himself. He sees photos of his daughter everywhere, a lot of people come and say many things. So much is happening that it was just too much to bear for him,” says Bhagirathi Bhatta, adding that her brother no longer recognises her, and calls a local policewoman 'Nirmala'. Durga Devi Panta looks harried not just from the struggle for justice for her daughter's unsolved rape and murder, but now by her husband's deteriorating mental health. “I don’t think we will ever get justice,” Durga Devi tells us, as she heats more water for protesters. “If the government wanted to give us justice, it would not have destroyed the evidence. I had lost hope right then. But now, this long protest for justice is taking our remaining health and sanity as well.”

Daughter's rape drives father to insanity

https://youtu.be/7NAkdUC4j7oIt was raining hard that Tuesday night on 11 September in Chandrapur of Rautahat. In the Das family home, teenage sisters Samjhana and Sushmita told their parents they were going to bed.The thatched roof, single-storey house had three rooms, one where the two sisters slept and another for their step-mother and younger sister. Their father, Jadolal Das, and his son walked to the family's pool room that they rented to locals.Sushmita remembers being woken up about midnight by her sister’s screams. Then she felt a burning pain in her own hands and body. Neighbours rushed to the house on hearing the sisters’ cries, their step-mother was confused and did not know why the two were screaming.Read also: '<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/corrosive-conduct/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Corrosive conduct</a>', EditorialAfter the neighbours figured out that this was an acid attack, they took the sisters to a tap and washed the burns. The girls were rushed to Kirtipur Hospital in Kathmandu after a local hospital said treatment was not possible.Both sisters writhed in pain throughout the bumpy seven hour ride all night to reach Kathmandu at 9AM. Sushmita remembers her sister’s blistered face contorted in pain, and her hair scalded. “I was so scared the whole time,” she said.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four-fold increase in reported rape in 10 years</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-does-the-nepali-media-cover-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How does the Nepali media cover rape?</a>, Bhrikuti RaiThe burn ward in Kritipur Hospital reeked of disinfectant. Sushmita was at the corner of the ward with bandages on her right hand and neck. Her sister lay bandaged and covered in a blanket in the Intensive Care Unit nearby.The heart monitor was beeping, and there was the sound of rough breathing. A visitor called out her name. She replied “hajur” in a trembling voice. It was too painful for her to talk. She had burns over 35% of her body, including her head, chest, back and face.Plastic surgeon Surendra Basnet had already performed one operation on Samjhana that morning, but warned the prognosis was not good.The nurses were dressing Sushmita’s wounds, which were not as serious. She was crying, praying for her sister. “I did not even know what acid was, I did not know it could burn you like that,” she said, in a weak voice.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923119c7e80680e03a161jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="584"/><figcaption>Pahilopost.com</figcaption></figure>Outside, in the corridor was the girls’ father Jadolal Das. But also hovering around making phone calls and holding hospital bills was a neighbour, Rambabu Paswan. When quizzed about his relation with the family he said: “I am a neighbour, but I am like a father to the girls. I watched them grow up.”Asked if he suspected anyone, Paswan told us Jadolal Das had a long-standing feud about property with his elder brother. He added: “She had just straightened her hair a few days ago, and was looking very pretty, I cannot believe she will not look like that anymore.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republic of rape</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/justice-for-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice for Sale</a>, Tufan Neupane<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923139c7e80680e03a162jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The sisters’ mother, whom Jadolal Das had divorced, was working in Malaysia. Samjhana had dropped out of Grade 10, and Sushmita was in Grade 8. The family had some savings, but friends in Chandrapur raised money for the sisters’ treatment.A few days after Nepali Times visited the hospital, police arrested Rambabu Paswan, the neighbour who had told us the sisters were “like daughters to me”. Police found that he had made 180 calls to Samjhana over the fortnight prior to the attack. Samjhana confirmed to her father that Paswan was the attacker, and he would call her often to propose sex. (See box.)On Monday 24 September, at the age of 18, Samjhana died of multiple organ failure. Doctors had performed three surgeries, and although they tried their best, they could not save her life. She was taken back to Chandrapur and cremated on the banks of the Bagmati, the same river that flows down from Kathmandu Valley.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923169c7e80680e03a163jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The girls’ mother is back from Malaysia and is looking after Sushmita in Kirtipur Hospital. Police have detained Paswan, and are conducting further investigations to charge sheet him.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13549#.W6zOR3szbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Acid attacks</a>, Manoj Shrestha in Biratnagar<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/lenient-punishment-not-a-deterrent-for-acid-attacks,2077" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Corrosive laws</a>, Binita Dahal<h4>Another day, Another acid attack</h4><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923189c7e80680e03a164jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1051">On the very day that Samjhana Das died because of her burns in a Kathmandu hospital after ten agonising days, Basanti Pariyar was coming home from Kawasoti market of Nawalparasi when she was attacked with acid and stabbed multiple times. The mother of two was set upon by her neighbour, Bimal Sripali, 37, and she is being treated at Bharatpur Hospital for stab wounds in her abdomen and head and acid burn injuries in her face, chest and hands.Police said Sripali had started divorce proceedings against his wife, and may have been making advances on Pariyar, 26, which she rejected. Basanti was with her sister and another woman when they passed Sripali, who grabbed her by the hair and poured acid on her face. Sripali has confessed to the crime, and said he went to Birganj to buy the acid.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/6369231c9c7e80680e03a165jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1107">On the same day in Pokhara, Shriya Sunar, 10, was found dead in Kodi village. She had gone to the market to buy biscuits. The post-mortem report states that the girl was raped, choked and hit on the head with stones. A Kusum Poudel, 27, and four other suspects have been arrested. Poudel confessed to the crime, and said he was drunk and stoned. Two days earlier, in faraway Jumla, a teenage girl was raped while returning home from festival. The police caught two teenage suspects.A Nepali Times investigation shows 479 girls and women have been attacked or raped in less than three months all over Nepal (see map, above). But those are just the ones reported to police, the real figure may be higher.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/perpetuating-patriarchy-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Perpetuating patriarchy in Nepal</a>, Deepti Gurung<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/02/24/acid-victims-want-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Acid victims want justice</a><h2>Total rape and attempted rape cases 17 July to 28 September 2018 in province 1, 3 and 4.</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/6369231f9c7e80680e03a166jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="313"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923229c7e80680e03a167jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="262"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923249c7e80680e03a168jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="301"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Update: Total rape and attempted rape cases 17 July to 28 September 2018 in Kathmandu Valley</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923269c7e80680e03a169jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="487" height="198"><h4>A father's story</h4>I own a Pool Centre which is about a kilometre away from the house. My son and I sleep there because there isn’t enough room at home. That night, I said bye to my family after dinner and left for the pool room with my son. It was raining heavily and I could barely sleep because of the noise on the roof. At midnight, I got a frantic call from my wife and all I could hear were her cries. I woke up my son and we rushed home.The room was full of a smoky, stinky smell. I saw the dread in the faces of my daughters. I had no idea what had happened there. The neighbours had already called an ambulance, but it was late so I took my injured daughters in a borrowed scooter to nearest Chakor Hospital.For two hours, the doctors applied medicines and bandages on the burns, but then suggested that I take them to Kathmandu. An ambulance driver helped me out. The doctors gave my daughters painkillers and we drove off at 3AM.Rambabu Paswan, my neighbour insisted that he come along. It took us seven hours to reach Kathmandu and my daughters were finally sent to the operating rooms. Sushmita had suffered 4% burns in her body, but Samjhana had 35% and was kept in the ICU. I wept when I saw her there.The Rautahat police called me up after a few days and asked me about the relationship of my daughter with Rambabu Paswan. I said we were neighbours, but the police sounded suspicious. They told me he had called her 180 times in the 15 days before the attack, but that his phone was now switched off. So, in the hospital in Kathmandu, I asked Paswan where his phone was, and he said he had lost it while sleeping outside the ICU.The next day, detectives found acid burn marks on Paswan's  fingers. I went to the ICU and asked Samjhana if Paswan was the culprit. She nodded, “Yes.” She told me haltingly how Paswan used to stalk her, and call repeatedly to proposition her.Paswan was arrested from the premises of the hospital in Kathmandu the next day, but that was no consolation for us. Samjhana died. We took her back to her hometown for her funeral so her friends could say their last goodbye. All I want now is for Paswan to be punished. Why is the government not doing anything when crimes like these are happening every day to daughters like Samjhana?(As told to Monika Deupala)Read also: #<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Here-We-Go/2013-jun-21-here-we-go-gender-violence,122" target="_blank" rel="noopener">genderviolence</a>, Trishna Rana“<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/rihana-sheikh-dhaphali-victim-of-dowry-related-violence-nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My husband and in-laws left me to die</a>”, Ayesha Shakya<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/636923279c7e80680e03a16ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="893"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>

Monika Deupala

Daughter Slaughter

https://youtu.be/7NAkdUC4j7oThere is an argument that there has not been an abrupt rise in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number of rape cases</a> in Nepal, it is just being reported more now. It is difficult to say what is worse: that it used to be hidden, or that victims and their families are coming forward to complain to the police.That is because the high profile cases of rape and abuse in the past few months have shown that the police is actually involved in protecting perpetrators, falsely accusing the innocent, destroying evidence, and covering up the truth. Combined with cases of recent encounter killings, the actions have led to a serious erosion of the public’s confidence in the police. In fact, there may be many victims now who are not going to file a complaint because they fear harassment and fabrication.As we reported last month, the number of reported rape cases in Nepal has increased by 30% in the past year. It has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiplied four times</a> in ten years . There have been 479 rape and attempted rape complaints brought to the police since the horrific murder of Nirmala Panta in Kanchanpur on 26 July. A special committee assigned to investigate the case, while accusing the district police chief of covering up, came no closer to naming the suspects.Read also: '<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=14002&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daughter Slaughter</a>', Monica DeupalaThe police have been equally ineffective in tackling a surge in copy-cat <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/lenient-punishment-not-a-deterrent-for-acid-attacks,2077" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acid attacks</a> in the past two weeks. The shocking case of Samjhana Das in Rautahat has once more exposed the culture of misogyny, patriarchy and impunity that corrodes our society. Men perpetrate these heinous crimes because they are brought up with a sense of entitlement and the conviction that they will never be convicted. There are also mothers-in-law and women who commit gender crimes, but by and large, it is a male-dominated activity.Acid attacks are especially horrific since they disfigure the victim for life, even if they survive. Pouring acid on a person is like burning them alive. In most cases, the root cause is the same as in rape, and often it is to take revenge for rebuffing an advance.We have reported in the past <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13549" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decades </a>in this paper about how acid attacks and bride burning are also perpetrated by in-laws for insufficient dowry. <figure><img width="800" height="769" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922d09c7e80680e03a14bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Diwakar Chettri</figcaption></figure>The survivors often lose their sight and are maimed because the acid burns through the skin down to the bone. They suffer months of excruciating pain even if they do not survive, like Samjhana Das, who died on Monday two weeks after an acid attack. Her 15-year-old younger sister, Sushmita Das, was also injured. A neighbour, Rambabu Paswan, has confessed he used acid on them because Samjhana had rejected him.Three years ago in the heart of Kathmandu, a fellow-student squirted acid on a class mate, and because it happened in the capital, the crime got wide play in the media. When the perpetrator was finally caught, it turned out to be a case of someone taking revenge against the girl’s family, who lived next door, for being taunted for being a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/on-the-road/acid-attacks-caste-discrimination,463" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dalit</a>.The case illustrates how in Nepal there are layers upon layers of pent-up grievances against injustice and discrimination. Stricter measures on the purchase of acid, and monitoring its use may be a deterrence, but as long as the root causes of gender-based violence remain, potential perpetrators will simply use another tool to attack girls and women.There is also urgent action needed to make the laws against acid attacks at least as strict, if not stricter than the ones for rape, bride-burning and other heinous crimes against women. At the moment, perpetrators only get a maximum of eight years in jail if convicted of carrying out an acid attack.Violence against women is a manifestation of the pervasive patriarchy in our culture. Misogyny is sanctioned by religious texts, folklore, movies, songs. Insulting women is taken as a joke. We have to look deeply inwards as a society to question values that we as a people seem to have come to accept as normal.Despite the new Constitution, the scale of justice in Nepal is still skewed. The persistence of gender based violence is the result of pervasive <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/justice-for-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impunity</a>, where men, powerful people, upper castes, urban dwellers, appear to have more protection from prosecution for crimes than women, lower castes, the poor, and weak.It should be the state’s responsibility -- to protect with prevention, investigation and justice -- the most vulnerable section of society. Alas, in our case, it is the most influential who are protected.It is meaningless to boast that Nepal’s Parliament has one of the highest representation of women in the world when we have such a poor record in granting women equal citizenship rights, and in protecting our mothers and sisters against crimes.Read also: '<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=14002&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daughter Slaughter</a>', Monica Deupala<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-roots-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The roots of Rape</a>, Kedar Sharma<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republic of Rape</a> <img width="1500" height="984" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922d29c7e80680e03a14cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><h2>10 years ago this week</h2> Writing in the #416 issue of Nepali Times of 5-11 September 2008, the head of UNMIN Ian Martin wrote about the successes of Nepal’s peace process, but warned that Nepalis should not have to wait till the new Constitution (which was still long six years away then) to see an improvement in their lives. Excerpts from Martin's op-ed:Nepal’s unique peace process has rarely gained outside attention since the guns fell silent two years ago. Yet, this success story deserves to be recognised and supported. Expectations are high among diverse groups for greater control of their lives and resources. But what federalism will mean in practice, taking account of the geographic and ethnic peculiarities of Nepal, remains elusive and potentially divisive. Reaching a national consensus will be a formidable task for the Constituent Assembly, and meanwhile the Nepali people cannot be expected to wait patiently until a new constitution is drafted to see real improvement in their daily lives.But there is reason to be hopeful. Nepal’s peace process has been truly indigenous: it has not been mediated or managed by any external party. The UN has encouraged and facilitated the process through good offices during the last years of the conflict, human rights monitoring, assistance to the election, and monitoring arms and armies during the transition. <img width="510" height="797" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922d59c7e80680e03a14djpeg.jpg" alt="">

CORROSIVE CONDUCT

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/636904509c7e80680e037d17jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>The Kanchanpur rape case should go down in history books as a landmark that brought long awaited changes to Nepal’s justice system, how it is implemented and delivered, and how rape is reported in the media.In early 1900s when women all over the world were waking up and rising up against the patriarchy and were demanding their right to vote, in Britain some <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34425615" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women started to train in jiu-jitsu</a>.It came in handy while dealing with male vigilantes who believed women should be harassed or beaten to submission, and the police who did the same to protesting women. The Women's Social and Political Party (suffragettes) was formed in 1903, and two decades later, finally women over 21 won the right to vote.See also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republic of rape</a>We are in 2018 now, and it is not just women fighting for women, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-roots-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">men are also joining the marches for justice</a>. Rapes do not only happen to women. And in a land where we have to fight to even register a case, the chances of abuse of an irreversible penalty like capital punishment is high.Let us demand fast track courts, a well-funded and well-trained prosecution arm of police, safe houses for women, compensation for victims, and (not or) harsh punishment for the perpetrator. Let us also call for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/03/11/kalaiya-protest-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">counselling services for rape survivors</a>, and efforts to remove stigma of rape. There should also be stricter punishment for those who obstruct justice regardless of their political clout or position in the police or bureaucracy. Here is what each sector can do:Major opposition partyIt is shameful to politicise the rape of a minor on the street to try to get some airtime and harass the government. Each party has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served in government when there were rape cases</a>. You did very little then, so if you really want to be in the news, then fight it out in Parliament to which you were elected. If you want to join the protests in the streets, leave your political baggage and flags  behind. Fight for the right as a citizen, not as a party hack.Ruling government party <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/justice-for-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A compensation of Rs1 million is not what the victim is looking for</a>. Ask yourself: is that your price tag on the life of a child? Where can they go to heal? What is the Ministry of Women and Child Development really doing? What is the Home Ministry doing in Kanchanpur? If you believe the opposition party is fanning the flames, why weren’t you quick off the mark to address the problem? Why did you let it drag on to the point where it could be politicised?Development agenciesExamine which activist group or government agency you fund and ask for a statement of solidarity from each of them for better implementation and delivery of justice and stricter and swifter laws. Your mandate doesn't need to explicitly state that you will be an ally of the rape victims and survivors. It is assumed.Nepali citizensRapes do not only happen to Nepali women, men are also raped. You don't need to have a mother, sister, daughter, aunt to empathise with the cause. If someone needs to be shot dead to demand justice, then we really have no hope of expecting swift and stern action against perpetrators of other crimes as well. If you do not like 'dollar wallas’ then create a rupee funded organisation that will fight for the cause. The culture needs to stop objectifying women, and releasing block-blusters in which women have no role except to play a love interest of the ‘villain' or ‘hero’, with no will, no voice, no part at all in a plot in which men are rewarded with love and marriage for stalking a woman. Fight for women not because you think they (we) are weak, but because we want a just society. We want a society that will take responsibility for safety for everyone at all hours.MediaC<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-does-the-nepali-media-cover-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over this as a trend, not an event to be forgotten</a>. Keep following up.Protestors and activistsWomen in Britain 100 years ago were beaten, force-fed when they went on hunger strikes, and it took them almost 25 years to get equal voting rights. They passed the baton to a new generation of leaders, and kept fighting. In Nepal, it may take more petticoat protests, but the next generation of leaders must be groomed. Civilisation always progresses, but in the meantime, Nepali women may also need to learn martial arts to protect themselves.

Sumana Shrestha

Turning outrage into justice

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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