Gun becoming norm in lawless Tarai

BIRGUNJ, May 11: The market for playthings here used to be dominated by toy cars, balls and dolls, but in what may be an effect of the rising levels of Tarai violence, toy guns have taken over these days. [break]



“This doesn´t just show a trend in toys but rather indicates the growing effect of armed conflict in the Tarai,” points out central regional coordinator of HimRights, Prem Dahal.



While the children simulate violence by playing with toy guns, the situation of actual violence in the Tarai provides fertile ground for grownups to make a transition to the real things.



“The weakening law and order situation has seen a massive rise in gun wielders, which in turn has increased the number of murders,” Dahal adds. Even a petty domestic quarrel results in gunfire nowadays as evidenced in Siraha where three people were killed recently over a minor dispute.






The use of weapons has resulted in a rise in cases of extortion and kidnapping. Many people have become displaced from Kalaiya and Jitpur of Bara district following an increasing trend of murdering those refusing to pay demanded sums. Others have resorted to carrying weapons themselves for personal protection.



Political instability and the ensuing violence have led to a rise in the smuggling in of guns and ammunition from bordering Indian towns like Narkatitagunj, Betiya, Jhalmaiya and Mirzapur through Birgunj and Inaruwa. Pistols that cost anything from Indian rupees 4,000-15,000 sell like hot cakes.



“Nowadays these types of guns are locally made even here in the villages of Bara, Parsa and Rautahat,” says a youth. The locals feel that the police are apathetic toward the malaise. A man was injured in an explosion while making a bomb in Birgunj two months ago while another was arrested with a cast for pistols in Bara a little earlier. But there was no thorough investigation into the incidents.



“The Tarai will become entrapped in a vicious cycle of violence if the rising level of criminal activity is not curbed,” feels central regional representative of the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), Krishna Gautam, referring to more than 20 killings by different armed groups over the last four months in six Tarai districts.