The row over appointment of Agni Sapkota as Minister for Information and communication does not seem to die down. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in Supreme Court of Nepal on Friday by a group of human rights activists demanding immediate removal of Sapkota who has been charged of abducting and murdering Arjun Lama of Kavre District in April 2005. The petitioners including Sushil Pyakurel, Kapil Shrestha, Mandira Sharma and Gopal Krishna Siwakoti requested the court to issue an interim order to remove Sapkota from the post until the final hearing of the case. This petition is significant in that it serves as a precedent for more war crimes to be taken to court.
The United Nations had earlier condemned appointment of the former rebel as a minister saying that the government failed to uphold commitments to human rights by appointing Agni Sapkota as minister while he still faces a kidnapping and murder charge.
Agni Sapkota, is considered a loyal supporter of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the Maoists have been reluctant on the issue claiming that incidents relating to the “People’s War” have to be dealt politically and cannot be made a legal issue.