The police have reportedly apprehended four suspects in connection with Monday's brutal killing of seven police personnel in Tikapur, Kailali, including Senior Superintendent of Police Laxman Neupane. The police officials were not killed while they confronted an irate mob. SSP Neupane was lynched, in cold blood, even as he was trying to calm down protestors. At least one other policeman was doused with kerosene and burnt alive. All signs suggest extremist elements had infiltrated Tharuhat protestors. These forces would like to see nothing more than an escalation in the stand-off between government forces and protestors who have hit the streets right across the Tarai belt. If that happens, incidents like Tikapur, we fear, could be repeated at other hotspots like Rautahat and Sarlahi as well. The prime minister has ordered deployment of Nepal Army. Imposing an army rule is sure to invite its own set of problems; the international community and human rights bodies have already pointed out the dangers of doing so. They are justified in their concern. Maintaining law and order is not an army business.But what then is the alternative? Yes, there have been instances of security forces using disproportionate force. Even when the police have to open fire, the international trend is to fire at protestors below their knees. But at least one protestor died from bullet wound in his chest. All such cases of inappropriate use of force by security forces should be investigated. But, surely, it is also up to the organizers of political protests to ensure that those protesting on their behalf employ only peaceful means and control infiltrations. This is all the more important since the police now find themselves in a tight spot. Following widespread criticism of their earlier heavy-handed response, they have been clearly instructed not to open fire unless they must. This is one reason the police in Tikapur were reluctant to open fire, even when the situation was getting out of their control. We must all spare a thought for those helpless police personnel who lost their lives— and the bereaved families.
So either the government could have given police more discretionary powers over the use of lethal arms, or it could deploy the army which is not bound by any compunction over the use of lethal force. Either way, it's a no-win scenario. We fear that in the future the police may not exercise such restraint, and risk their lives. Alternately, more and more extremist forces could infiltrate the ranks of protestors. These forces will resort to violence, in turn provoking a harsh response from security personnel. This is why the solutions to the problems in the Tarai belt have to be found through dialogue. It was morally reprehensible for our political leaders to try to quell peaceful protests with force. Killing of security personnel in cold blood, as was seen in Tikapur, was as cowardly. Both the sides in the current constitutional debate must at once come back to the talks table to put a final stop to this vicious cycle of violence. Tomorrow, there might be nothing to talk about.
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