Upon learning of their son´s death, Digar Dev Bhatta and his wife Janaki came to Haldukhal in Bhimdutta Municipality-7, Kanchanpur District, along with their 11-year-old daughter Pooja. The family has been staying with Bhatta´s eldest brother. [break]
Villagers, however, know nothing following the incident. And the Bhattas don´t know that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal went to console the family of Sanjay Dwivedi, which also lost a son to kidnappers.
“I am a victim. But no one came to show understanding for my grief. They killed my son without any reason, and still no one cares,” Digar Dev said. The family has asked the government to investigate the death, punish the culprit and provide compensation.
Although the District Police Office, Banke has asked them to file a complaint, they don´t know anything. “They said they´d be here on Monday. But we don´t know in whose name we are to file a complaint. We don´t know anyone,” he said.
A police sub-inspector at Dashera area police office, a day´s walk from Jajarkot district headquarters, Digar Dev was planning to take leave to celebrate with his family. Due to lack of telephones, he learnt of his son´s kidnapping only after reaching Jajarkot.
“I have not been able to return home since last Tihar. Dashain has become a bane for us,” Bhatta, who has spent 29 years in the police force, said. He is due to retire after a year and half.
Following the incident, his wife and daughter have refused to return to Nepalgunj, and he´s worried about his only daughter. “She´s been crying over her brother. It´s hard to console her,” he said. He believes that if only he could have talked to the culprits, he could have saved his son.
A week after the incident, many things well up in their minds.
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