By NNN-Nepal News
Kathmandu : The Nepal Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC) has blamed the Home Ministry, local authorities and the police for the human and physical losses in the Kapilvastu riots as these agencies failed to act responsibly.
According to a report prepared by the HRTMCC after the assessment visit to riot-torn areas, 18 people have been killed, 16 seriously injured and some 50 are still out of contact from their families. The preliminary estimate of property losses is over a billion rupees (US$14.1 million).
Similarly, over 500 houses have been looted and burnt down and more than 5,000 people are displaced from their villages. The displaced people are taking asylum in schools, security base camps or in the houses of relatives. The attackers burnt some 150 vehicles, mostly the trucks.
Speaking to journalists in Kathmandu, Kundan Aryal, a member of the assessment team, said the riot had been so much destructive because the local authorities waited the orders from the ministry in Kathmandu whereas they must have acted promptly. He said the unrest looked like a pre-meditated one.
Former member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Shushil Pyakurel said the incidents occured “mainly due to the negligence of the government and the parties who spend most of their time in political tussle at the centre and ignore the situation in the districts”.
He said the chief district officer and Superintendent of Police of the district remained mere spectators without taking immediate steps to control the violence.
He further blamed Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula for engaging in political talks at a time when he was required to concentrate on maintaining the peace and security in volatile areas.
Senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, who was part of the monitoring team, suggested deploying a taskforce instead of forming an investigation commission in order to avoid similar incidents in future. He also demanded immediate relief package to the victims.
HRTMCC has suggested the government to begin rehabilitation of the displaced people and keep the local authorities and security forces in alert position to avert such violence in other districts.