Local political leaders, civil society members, rights activists, advocates and representatives of various organizations on Wednesday mounted pressure on the administration to arrest Parshuram Basnet, Morang district coordinator of Youth Force, a youth wing of the ruling CPN (UML), for instructing hooligans to beat up Dhakal. [break]
But the police administration has turned a deaf ear to their appeal.
Apparently at the behest of Basnet, Rohit Koirala, Biratnagar in-charge of the YF, had taken Dhakal to a secluded place where Manoj Rai, along with his inebriated friends, had severely flogged him Sunday night. Basnet had targeted Dhakal for a news story about his plot to kill Abhishek Giri, who is in judicial custody for allegedly killing his former friend Karan Yadav in broad daylight on the court premises last week.
Basnet, Giri and Yadav were partners in contract business. Later, Giri broke away with Basnet and Yadav. In a culmination of their rivalry, Giri allegedly plotted to kill Basnet and Yadav. While Basnet survived the attack, Yadav was killed.
Although Basnet says the last week´s attack on Giri was meant for putting pressure on the court to not release him, knowledgeable sources say he intended to kill Giri so that the latter would not disclose his “sordid past” while giving statement in the court.
At an interaction program held by the Morang district chapter of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) on Wednesday, Sita Poudel, a representative of NGO federation, said that the support lent by the political party to its cadres involved in crime would eventually erode people´s faith in politicians.
Advocate Hem Raj Panta flayed the local administration for its failure to nab the accused. “It is up to the court to decide whether Basnet is the perpetrator,” he said, adding, “But, for the court to deliver its verdict, the police needs to nab him first.” Mohan Kaji Neupane, eastern regional coordinator of the FNJ, said, “We will not relent unless Basnet is brought to book.”
Meanwhile, over five dozen journalists staged a sit in front of the District Administration Office, Morang on Wednesday demanding that the perpetrators of the attack be brought to justice.
Dhakal undergoes nose surgery
Our correspondent Khila Nath Dhakal, severely injured after Youth Force cadres attacked him, underwent nose surgery Wednesday afternoon.
Three broken bones were taken out of his smashed nose after an operation by ENT specialist Dr Ravi Suwal at Nobel Medical College. He has currently been kept at the post-operative ward and would again be shifted to the emergency cabin Thursday afternoon.
Dr Jyotish Chandra Jha, who is involved in Dhakal´s treatment, said he needs regular check-up of other serious injuries and would require a month to recover fully.
Nobel is treating the injured journo for free, according to Managing Director of the hospital Sunil Sharma.
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