“There wasn’t much damage to our house, except a few smashed windows, but my family feels psychologically tormented,” says Upreti of Jeetpur, Bara.
Upreti also added the extortionists threatened to murder her family members on the phone after the bomblasts.
Another resident of the village, Gyanprasad Koirala, shares a similar experience when gunmen demanded Rs 16,000 from him.
These incidents are part of a growing trend in the Tarai where many residents have been murdered by armed extortionists.
Rajesh Kyal, a young businessman of Birjung, was shot dead on Monday by extortionists in another case.
While only pahade-s fell victim to threats of this type until a few months back, extortionists are now targeting anyone, irrespective of their ethnicity.
“They blasted a bomb in my house, because I didn’t stoop to their demand of Rs 200,000,” says Krishna Gupta, a Madhesi businessman.
Over two dozen groups have been identified collecting money in the name of political causes. And they are not shy about claiming responsibility for the murder either.
For instance, according to local journalist, Binod Pyakurel, various parties claimed responsibility for the murder of Rajesh Kyal.
“Parties tend to murder indiscriminately just to increase their own notoriety, so that it is easy for them to demand money from people,” says Pyakurel.
Locals claim that the trend is growing because the police is also involved along with the extortionists. The police, though, claim victims don’t disclose the information they know, making it difficult for them to carry on with their work.
Kailashnath Kharel, CDO of Bara said that they would carry out a security review before changing their strategy, in order to curtail the problem.
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