Writ petition demands independent probe into Bhairabnath 'disappearances'

A writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court on Sunday demanding independent probe into the 'involuntary disappearances' of 49 detainees from the Nepali Army’s Bhairatnath Battalion in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, in 2004.

The writ petition filed by advocate Jit Man Banet stated that the government’s latest report that the army didn’t disappear 49 persons from the Bhairabnath Battalion is not credible. Basnet’s writ demanded that the court order the government to set up an inquiry commission to find out the condition of the disappeared persons and suspend the army personnel and government officials responsible for the disappearances and start legal action against them.

The writ said several detainees went missing from the ‘secret’ detention facility inside the Bhairab Nath Battalion in 2004.

Following a direction from the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the parliament, secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Bishnu Dutta Upreti, on October 12 presented a report on the status of 12 persons, shrugging off the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) that held the army responsible for disappearance of 49 detainees from Bhairabnath.

According to the government report, of the 12 people, seven were released and handed over to their families or relatives, one died while undergoing treatment at the military hospital, one died in an explosion and one person was given two years jail sentence.

Though the government admitted that some of the detainees were tortured inside the barrack, it claimed that nobody was disappeared by the army and that its report was final.

A five-member committee headed by Brigadier General Sarad Kumar Neupane was formed on June 14 to probe the alleged disappearances.

Unconvinced by the government’s report, the parliamentary committee had asked the government to launch fresh investigation into the case and submit a detailed report. nepalnews.com mk Oct 29 06

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