On Tuesday, government officials, led by Health and Population Minister Bidhyadhar Mallik, visited Bir Hospital to meet the parents who are said to be in a critical condition.
The government officials urged the couple, Nanda Prasad Adhikari and his wife Gangamaya, to end the fast as the government has intensified investigation into the case and requested the couple to receive the interim relief fund worth Rs 300,000 allocated by the government.[break]
Nur Prasad Adhikari, brother of the deceased, said, "My parents have already announced to chose death if those who killed my brother are not arrested."
The police have announced to reinvestigate the case just to influence the ongoing protest, but we are not ending the protest until all the accused are arrested, he said.
We call on the government to arrest the culprits who have already been identified and are moving freely under political protection, he added.
During the visit, the minister assured the security and rehabilitation of the couple to the district and to bring the culprits behind bars.
The minister was accompanied by Minister of Peace and Reconstruction Ram Kumar Shrestha, Home Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire, and Member and Spokesperson of National Human Right Commission (NHRC) Gauri Pradhan, among others. Chief of the Interim Election Council Khila Raj Regmi had asked the delegation to meet the couple.
The government has sought help from human rights activists, journalists and other stakeholders to facilitate to resolve the problem.
Criticizing the government´s step to reinvestigate the cases of conflict era, UCPN (Maoist) had denounced the move and described it as an act that could derail the entire peace process ahead of the elections. The party had also urged the government to speed up the formation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission and resolve issues accordingly.
Adhikari was murdered on June 6, 2004 by Maoist cadres during insurgency.
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