The government´s decision has paved the way to collecting compensation from rights offenders. In a second phase, the government will take legal action against a former chief of army staff, dozens of senior army officers, police officers, top bureaucrats and cadres of the Maoist and other political parties, as recommended by NHRC.
According to a knowledgeable source, the cabinet meeting last week took a decision to this effect so as to end increasing impunity. The government has been facing criticism for not implementing NHRC´s recommendations and contributing instead to increasing impunity in the country.
“We have also heard a little about the decision. This is a positive step. It will help end impunity. But we should be given the document on the decision to learn of the exact nature of implementation” said Kedar Nath Upadhyaya, chief of NHRC.
According to a cabinet source, those who have been recommended for punishment by NHRC are liable to pay Rs 70 million to the victims as compensation. NHRC´s recommendations have been gathering dust since 1994.
According to data, 340 of those named in the recommendations have been fingered for abduction, extra-judicial killings and disappearing people.
Similarly NHRC has recommended that the government take action against 160 individuals for violation of human rights in various other cases.
The government decision has paved the way for the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute offenders in various criminal cases.
NHRC, after its investigation, had recommended to the government to take necessary action against those named in connection with disappearing and torturing people at Bhairavnath Battalion and Yuddha Bhairav Battalion, and in connection with extra-judicial killings in the Doramba incident, in the murders of journalists Birendra Sah, Dekendra Thapa and Uma Singh and many others.
NHRC had recommended the government prosecute former chief of army staff Pyar Jung Thapa and senior army officials including Toran Jung Bahadur Singh, Raju Basnet, Padam Singh Khatri, Raja Ram KC, Bibek Bista, Harendra Bahadur Singh and Indrabir Rana.
Similarly NHRC has recommended prosecution of security officers for involvement in the Kotwada incident. In the incident 37 laborers engaged in airport construction work were murdered en mass at Kotwada, Kalikot district in 2001.
NHRC found that senior army officials were involved in the Kalikot incident. The commission had recommended the government take action against police officers in the murder of NHRC staffer Dayaram Pariyar.
Similarly, senior police officers Chuda Bahadur Shrestha and Kuber Singh Rana, senior army officers Anup Adhikary and then Chief District Officer of Dhanusha district Rewati Raman Kafle were named by the commission in the murder of Sanjib Kumar Karna and Durgesh Labh. CDO Kafle and the police and army officers were recommended for punishment for not taking up the murder case seriously.
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