KATHMANDU, Feb 24: "I am innocent. Give me justice," repeatedly pleaded the under-arrest Rishi Dhamala in a brief exchange with journalists gathered at the District Administration Office (DAO), Kathmandu, on Tuesday afternoon. [break]
The occasion was the filing of a case under the Arms and Ammunition Act against Dhamala and three other accused by the Metropolitan Police Range Office, Kathmandu, at the DAO. A large number of media persons had gathered at the DAO premises to capture his statement before he was produced before the DAO officials.
As police personnel escorted him to the Legal Cases Section on the first floor of the DAO, Dhamala, spotting television cameras aimed towards him, addressed the media while still walking: "I am innocent. I am being tortured just because someone spoke against me."
"There is no physical torture," he said. "But, I am being mentally tortured with 23 days in custody without my having committed any offence."
He alleged that police did not care about his health while keeping him in custody. "My health is deteriorating. I have a problem with my lungs," he complained.
Along with Dhamala, police also filed a case against Ram Subhak Mahato (also known as Pradeep), Manoj Mahato (also known as Binayak) and Birendra Kumar Mahato, at Kathmandu DAO on Tuesday.
Dhamala, who is president of Reporters´ Club, Nepal,appealed to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal and K P Oli, and Madhesi People´s Rights Forum chairman and Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav to secure his release. "I have done nothing bad to the country," he added. "I have long been fighting for democracy and civil liberties."
He was arrested on February 4 for alleged links with the little-known armed outfit Ranabir Sena as per statements made by the three other accused. The group admitted responsibility for three separate bomb blasts in Kathmandu, besides extorting hefty amounts from businessmen based in Kathmandu and other parts of the country.
Dhamala dubbed as fake the telephone conversations purportedly involving him and the other accused. "There is a system of faking the voice. The same has happened in my case too." Police have accused Dhamala of taking part in such conversations -- in seven recordings in all -- involving extortion demands, among other things, and presented the recordings as evidence.
Officials at the DAO said they will record Dhamala´s statement on Wednesday morning as police brought him there today almost at the closing hour.
Dhamala, who had otherwise remained confident, broke into tears when a DAO official asked him to sign a paper relating to his case. "I trust you. I don´t need to read the paper," he said. "I am innocent."
Police officials at the Metropolitan Police Range Office, Kathmandu, said they are filing two other charges "for extortion and attempted murder" against the four accused including Dhamala at Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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