Valley
NHRC begins encounter probe
The National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday launched a probe into the ‘police encounter’ on Monday that killed two men accused of ransom kidnapping.The National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday launched a probe into the ‘police encounter’ on Monday that killed two men accused of ransom kidnapping.
The rights body’s move follows complaint ‘of extrajudicial killings’ lodged by the families of the two kidnappers—Gopal Tamang and Ajay Tamang.
The families claim police killed the two men after arresting them. The families deny receiving the bodies and insist on arresting those involved in the killings.
Authorities have kept their bodies at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital after autopsy.
The rights body summoned Acting Chief of Metropolitan Police Commissioners Office Deputy Inspector General of Police Manoj Neupane to inquire about the incident.
“We are treating this as a suspicious incident and investigation will be done accordingly,” Sudip Pathak member of the commission told the Post. A five-member probe panel is investigating the ‘encounter’. Inquiry with DIGP Neupane was a part of the investigation process, he added.
Police claim they killed Tamang duo in a gun battle in the Suryabinayak jungle in Municipality-9 during their manhunt. Police claim the ‘kidnappers’ attacked the squad first and were killed counter firing.
Local residents claim police arrested the duo from their rented room in Nagdesh, Bhaktapur before killing them.
“The Commission would take further action based on the findings,” Prakash Osti, another member of the Commission told the Post. The panel expects to complete the probe within five to six days. The Commission has mandate to recommend legal actions if someone is guilty.
This is third case of ‘police encounter’ in the Valley in recent years. Notorious gangster Kumar Shrestha ‘Ghainte’—considered close to Nepali Congress—was killed in August 2015. Another gangster Dinesh Adhikari ‘Chari’—backed by then CPN-UML—was shot dead in August 2014.
Following that encounter in 2015, the Nepali Congress had raised the issue in the House saying it was a case of extrajudicial killing. CPN-UML claimed Adhikari was not killed in an encounter, but that the police first arrested him before they killed him.