National
Hearing on Tikapur incident begins
The Kailali District Court on Wednesday began the hearing on Tikapur incident.The Kailali District Court on Wednesday began the hearing on Tikapur incident.
A bench of district Judge Parshuram Bhattarai today directed both the plaintiff and defendant to present their witnesses before the court on September 9 for recording statements after the first hearing.
Earlier, 24 accused of Tikapur incident, remanded to the Kailali prision, were brought before the court for interrogation.
Twenty persons including lawmaker-elect Resham Chaudhary and a child have been charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery.
Chaudhary, who was elected to the federal parliament from Kailali-1 on a Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) ticket, is one of the main accused in the Tikapur incident. They have been remanded to judicial custody for investigation.
The child is in Pokhara-based child rehabilitation centre while Chaudhary has been detained at the Dillibazaar-based central jail in Kathmandu. Other 24 have been kept at the District Prison Kailali.
“Plaintiff and defendant have been ordered to present their witnesses before the court after the first hearing,” Section Officer Nar Bahadur Negi said, adding, “The justice process on Tikapur incident has begun from Wednesday.”
Eight security personnel, including then Seti Zonal Police Chief SSP Laxman Neupane, and a two-year-old child were killed during the Tharuhat agitation demanding a separate province on August 24, 2015.
Tension had escalated in the area then due to sporadic clashes between supporters of Tharuhat and that of the undivided Far-West.
Chaudhary had been at large even after securing a comfortable victory in the elections. However, he unexpectedly appeared at the court on February 26 and recorded his statement.
A charge-sheet was filed against 56 people for their alleged involvement in the Tikapur incident that took place in August, 2015.
He had also tried to register a writ petition at the Supreme Court through his wife, seeking issuance of his victory certificate. But the court refused to register the writ.
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