The charges against Sah are too serious to be swept under the carpet. Though the charge-sheet filed at the Parsa district court Wednesday does not have the ex-minister’s name, the district police had categorically mentioned Shah as the architect of the murder of Kashinath Tiwari carried out on June 25 this year. And there is certainly a lot of credibility in the district police report simply because it was investigated by SP Ramesh Kharel, who is well-known for his unflinching integrity.
The name from the charge-sheet was allegedly removed under pressure from the Attorney General Mukti Pradhan, a Maoist cadre who was recently appointed to the high post. What further lends credence to the murder allegation against the ex-minister is Wednesday’s revelation by Late Tiwari’s wife, Babitadevi Tiwari, of having been offered blood money not to implicate Sah.
This case is a litmus test for the Maoist party on the issue of impunity. The party has in the past earned notoriety for protecting their cadres despite their involvement in grave crimes. One such high-profile incident was the murder of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha by Kali Bahadur Kham. Instead of handing Kham over the police, the party rewarded him by promoting him to central committee.
Another case includes Balkrishna Dhungel, the Maoist lawmaker from Okhaldhunga who has been given life imprisonment on a murder charge by the court but is still walking scot-free. If the party supports the authorities in the investigations into the charges against Sah, it will send out the first message that the UCPN (Maoist) is slowly transforming into a civilian, democratic party. If not, it will only prove that irrespective of what the party tells the world, it has failed to transform since joining mainstream politics.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has a task cut out for him. Since he comes from the same party as Sah and is considered very close to him, his fast-eroding credibility hinges largely on how the government handles the case. We urge PM Bhattarai to lead from the front and show that this government means business and that it will not discriminate between high-ranking people and common citizens when it comes to the question of law. Late Tiwari’s family must get justice come what may.
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