At least 15 complaints have been registered against Col Kumar Lama of Nepal Army, who is being tried in a British court for his involvement in torturing two individuals during the conflict period.

Col Lama was arrested under the universal jurisdiction in the UK three years ago for torture committed to two individuals suspecting of being rebel Maoists when he was in charge of Gorusinghe barracks in Kapilvastu district.

The Local Peace Committee (LPC), which has been registering complaints from the conflict victims for the past two and half months, has received the highest number of complaints against Col Lama.

“We can’t tell you exact number of complaints against him, as some of them are sealed ones,” said an LPC official, “But we have received the highest number of complaints against him till date.”

Col Lama, then a major, was chief of Kalijung Battalion. He has been accused of abduction, unlawful detention, torture and enforced displacement during his tenure in the barracks.

According to officials, most of the complainers are the leaders and cadres of the then rebel Maoist party. The party is a major coalition partner of current government.

At least 10 people had lost their lives in operation carried out by the security force and many others were arrested and tortured while Lama was in charge of the battalion.

Meanwhile, the number of complaints filed at the LPC has increased dramatically as the deadline for case registration draws closer. According to LPC Secretary Tapa Raj Ojha, a total of 311 complaints have been registered with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, while the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons has received 16 complaints.

The commissions have already received complaints against major political leaders, including chairperson of CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, main opposition leader and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, former Nepal Army and Nepal Police chiefs and other bureaucrats.

The deadline for registering complaints has been set mid-July. The TRC has registered over 45,000 complaints till date while the CIEDP has received over 2,500 complaints.