The victim has alleged that six people, including Nawaraj, were killed in the beating of Soti villagers.
When a large group attacked on the bank of the Bheri, the injured did not see the deceased including Nawaraj.
Jajarkot, Kathmandu - Nawaraj Vishwakarma of Jajarkot would not have rushed across the Bheri River to his next village if his girlfriend had not texted him saying, "Come and get me, or else they are going to marry me." He dreamed of bringing his girlfriend home, but he could not return home holding her hand. He and five of his friends disappeared.
The girl from Sotigaun in Rukumpashchim contacted Nawaraj Bishwakarma on June 26, 2008. She said that her family was going to marry another man but she did not accept it and asked him to come with her to pick her up. Nawaraj had asked 19 friends for help saying that he had planned to bring his girlfriend away soon. But when the last message came, he did not have the patience to wait.
Ten people left Ranagaun of Khalanga for Rukum at around 12 noon. They reached Dhalla on the banks of the Bheri River in two hours, where nine other friends were waiting. According to the injured Sudip Khadka, a team of 19 people remained at the spot for about an hour and a half. At around 3:30 pm, they went to Soti, the village of Nawaraj's girlfriend. We reached near the house around 5 o'clock.
Although it is a short way from Khalanga of Jajarkot to Soti via a suspension bridge near Kalegaon, it is seen that Nawaraj and his friends went to the village of the girl by walking around Chaurjahari which is a little lower. There, some more friends were added to Nawaraj's team, while others were added near the Matela Bridge above. After walking uphill for about an hour and a half, they reached the girl's house.
When the villagers found out that he was coming, without saying anything, they started walking towards Khalanga. The youths walked about 10 minutes from Soti to a place called Garinaula about a kilometer down. He asked for water and ate it. Some strangers in Naula tried to confuse him by saying, 'Fathers, sit down and eat caravan.' Doubting their behavior, they moved on without stopping.According to the statement of a person who went with Nawaraj and escaped after the attack, they reached near the girl's house at around 5 pm. Friends had made Nawaraj unrecognizable by wearing a hat and a mask, anticipating a 'scandal'. As soon as he saw Nawaraj Vishwakarma and his friends, the girl's mother Prakashi Malla said, "You haven't been beaten yet?" She said. She called Dammar Bahadur Malla, the ward chairman of Chaurajahari-8, and asked for help.
According to the injured Saroj Khadka, they had just reached the Madhya Pahadi Lok Marg, about 2 km down from Naula, when a group of 60-70 people pelted stones at them. "They took us to the shores of Bheri with stones, sickles and scissors," he said.
The river Bheri is below the place where the attack took place. The mob of Soti villagers chased them away from the Mid-Hills Highway to Bagar of Bheri River, 2 km below. According to the activists, the survivors tried to cross the bridge as another group blocked the bridge. One of the 19 youths who were beaten and chased by the villagers escaped and managed to return home.There are many doubts as to how the girl's side, which seems to be ready, planned. The victim's family has alleged that it was a game to hide a fact of the incident. According to the victim's side, the girl's phone was taken under control and her brother texted her.
According to the on-the-spot report, a large contingent of 19 people, including Dambar Bahadur Malla, who was ready, attacked the unarmed team. According to Pujan Bishwakarma, who went for an on-site study on behalf of the Dalit Liberation Organization, it is not possible to jump from the cliff to reach Bheri. "People, there is a place where you can't reach Bheri even if you throw a car," Vishwakarma told Kantipur. "That has made the incident even more mysterious."
Twelve people injured in the beating crossed the Bheri River and were surrounded in the middle of the river. Five of them jumped into a large ravine and reached Waripatti. Seven people got stuck in the buggy between the two sides. The villagers of Soti came to Bagar and beat up seven people who did not want to jump into the river. According to the victim, who was beaten with sticks and firewood, he was unconscious after the beating and was under police control at Chaurjahari Hospital. Another group of attackers had crossed a suspension bridge over a kilometer and settled in Kalegaon. A group of 20 to 25 people also beat up five people who had swum across the river and took them back to the scene.
Chief of Bheri Municipality Chandra Prasad Gharti told the on-site study team that the people of Sotigaun chased Nawaraj Bishwakarma and others, surrounded them on both sides of the Bheri River, beat them and threw them into the river. If the police had not reached the spot, the remaining 12 people could have been killed.
According to another eyewitness, Indra Jung Shah, five persons who lost their lives due to the beating and one missing person did not come to the bank of the river Bheri. Where were Nawaraj and others who were attacked by the villagers? It is not clear how he fell into the river. The victim has alleged that six people including Nawaraj were killed in the beating of a Soti villager and their bodies were dumped in Bheri after the incident. When a large group attacked on the bank of the Bheri River, the injured did not see the dead including Nawaraj.
Silent police
Kalegaon, which is said to be the site of the incident, is located on the other side of the river Bheri from Garideula Chaurjahari. It is seen that the nearest police station has reached the spot. Police Inspector Dharmasingh Bista of the Chaurajahari Police Office told the monitoring team that the police team had reached Sotigaun the night before. Ward Chairman Dambar Bahadur Malla had called the police team that went to Kholagaun to settle the road dispute.
A five-member team under the command of Assistant Inspector of Police Santosh Lamichhane reached the spot. From there, the police seem to have taken control of Mahesh Karki and Dilli Vishwakarma who went with Nawaraj. A source at the District Police Office, West Rukum, told Kantipur, quoting Inspector Bista, that about 50 people, including Ward Chairman Malla, were standing in the bar when they reached the spot.
After getting information about the incident, two policemen from the police post Hulukhola Jajarkot reached the suspension bridge near the incident site. "Even when the police came, they did not take any initiative to calm down. They were watching the city blowing," said the injured Saroj Khadka.
According to a source at the Provincial Police Office, Chaurjahari police have admitted that they could not control the crowd. Eyewitnesses say that the police did not do enough to control the situation. The victims and Dalit rights activists have demanded an investigation into the incident. Injuries to Khadka's head, hands, arms and back have not been healed.
According to the injured, the villagers had jumped into the Bheri River and pelted the river with stones and chippers. The locals of Soti had handed over to the police team from Chaurjahari saying that they had tried to force the girl to come to the village by violating the logging of 12 people including 7 from Bagar and 5 from Kalegaon. The police team that reached the spot did not search for Nawaraj and others. On the contrary, the injured youth was taken under control and kept in the custody of IPR's Chaurjahari. But police claim he was treated.
The central team has questioned the police at the spot. During the interrogation, the police said that some of the chased youths jumped into the river. However, the victims have responded that only those who tried to cross the river jumped and escaped. The victim has alleged that the police have started compiling details to confirm that the jumpers may have died.
Seeing such a big clash, the police did not know that a group of Nawarajs had been chased and beaten from the village. Without arresting anyone, the police vehicle went to Chaurjahari with only those who had been beaten a little in Bheri. The victim is accused of trying to keep the incident of beating secret. However, the police claimed that they did not know any other details and responded that they arrested the others only after finding Nawaraj's body on the bank of the Bheri River. According to human rights activists, most of the locals in Garideula, who witnessed the stampede, are reluctant to talk about the incident.
What does the on-site report say?
A few days after the incident, a team of 10 Dalit leaders and human rights activists reached the spot. According to the study report prepared by them, the group of girls surrounded and attacked from all sides. Dharmalal Rokaya, a Dalit rights activist, told Kantipur that those involved in the attack had attacked Nawaraj's group with home-made weapons and dumped his body in the river. "If we study the incident on the spot, there is no way to jump into the river. Even if we jump, people get stuck in the middle because of the butyan," Rokaya said about the report.
There is a similar claim in the report prepared by 10 human rights activists including Rokaya after an on-site study. According to the report, "Nawaraj Vishwakarma and five of his friends were killed and their bodies were dumped in Bheri.
There are also some factual facts that confirm the investigation report. There is no gap in the Bheri river around the incident site. The thigh is about 6/7 feet deep. There are no jumping hills or cliffs. There is a wide flow like swimming on the shore. There is a bridge at a distance of one kilometer above the incident site and another bridge at a distance of 2/3 kilometers. According to his friends, the dead and missing friends have been swimming in the Bheri River and are not in danger of drowning.
His body was found on the Bheri bank near Jajarkot at 6:30 pm within an hour or two of the incident. The bodies of four of the five who went missing that day have been found on the banks of the Bheri River till April 30. The condition of one of them is unknown. In the initial statement, the friends who went with Nawaraj said that he was stoned as soon as he came around the girl's house. Police told the team from Kathmandu that Nawaraj and the other injured were unarmed. So much so, that they had no money. Police Inspector Dharmasingh Bista has expressed his commitment to conduct an impartial investigation saying that he was beaten to death due to caste discrimination and caste untouchability.
Various investigations confirm that the love between the two is being talked about within the Malla family and even among close relatives. Indra Bahadur Malla, the grandfather of the girl, had asked Nawaraj's father if he wanted to be Malla's Samdhi. He, who lives in Khalanga, Jajarkot, asked Nawaraj's sister on the day of the incident, "Did Nawaraj reach home or not?" Were asked. According to the victim's family, Indra Bahadur replied that he found out where Nawaraj had gone with the crowd of boys. Didi had contacted Nawaraj on the phone at around 5.30 pm, that was the last conversation between them.
A week after the incident, a team comprising Karnali State Police Chief DIG Vasant Pant, Jajarkot Chief District Officer Janak Raj Sharma and Rukum West Chief District Officer Upendra Raj Poudel reached the spot on Saturday. The team has met the families of the victims as well as locals. A high-level investigation committee formed by the Home Ministry also reached the spot on Saturday and conducted an on-site study.
Thus began love
Nawaraj Bishwakarma of Ranagaun, Bheri Municipality-4 of Jajarkot used to actively participate in various sports. The girl who is in a 'love affair' with him is from Sotigaun of Chaurajahari Municipality-8. Nawaraj's parents found out about their love affair three years ago in Vallopalto village, which is separated by the Bheri river.
The two met for the first time in the Presidential Running Shield Competition held in 2075 BS at Kudu, Jajarkot. That's how they got to know each other. Then they were in regular contact. The girl had gone to Nawaraj's house at Khalanga Mela in Jajarkot in December 2076 BS and stayed there for four days. The boy's father had tried to remind the girl that she was too young and that Thakuri's daughter did not belong to us on the basis of caste.
The girl replied, "Uncle, what are you talking about?" We are Maoists, we do not believe in caste. We are both friends We will get married after eight years, ”said Nawaraj's father in an interview with the on-site study team. Within a few days, the young woman came home on the occasion of the birthday of Nawaraj's brother (aunt's son) and returned after staying for three days.
Friends said that they are talking on Facebook and Messenger through regular phone calls and SMS. Similarly, a few days after the lockdown started, on April 3, the young woman had invited Nawaraj to her house for a meeting. On the same day, the girl's family beat her up using abusive language and handed her over to the Area Police Office, Chaurjahari. After being detained for one night, the police released Nawaraj's father the next day. As the father was physically disabled and could not go, the mother went home with her son.
On the day of the incident, on May 26, the girl informed Nawaraj that her parents were going to marry another boy. Asking her to flee, she 'massaged' her friends to bring her. Accordingly, the body of Nawaraj, who had reached Sotigaun with his friends, was found on the bank of Seti within a few hours. A human rights activist who went to the field study suspects that the last message was sent by the young woman. "It was not a phone call, it was a message," a human rights activist told Kantipur.
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