Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli has called Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi Saturday morning and instructed to unchain Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) leader Resham Chaudhary during his treatment in Bir Hospital and punish those involved in chaining him.
Chetan Adhikari, press coordinator of PM, said PM gave the instruction after his attention was drawn after photos of Chaudhary being chained during treatment were published.
Chaudhary, who is serving life sentence over the Tikapur incident, has been admitted at the hospital since Wednesday following problems in his back and lungs.
Police have chained him to the hospital bed citing security reasons.
The Kailali District Court on March 6 had slapped a life sentence over the Tikapur incident.
Article 89 of the constitution states that the seat of a member of the federal parliament will become vacant if he or she is no longer qualified or ceases to possess the qualification under Article 87 which states 'not having been convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude' as a qualification for becoming member of the federal parliament.
Chaudhary is one of the main accused of the Tikpaur incident in which eight police personnel including an SSP of Nepal Police and a toddler were lynched on August 24, 2015.
He was at Dilli Bazar Jail after surrendering before the Kailali District Court on February 26, 2018. He was sworn in as House of Representatives (HoR) member on January 3 even as the case was sub judice. Chaudhary remained in judicial custody and was not allowed to attend the House meeting even after being sworn in.
Chaudhary, who was absconding after the Kailali killings, had surrendered before the Kailali District Court on February 26, 2018.
Chaudhary had lodged the candidacy for federal parliament through an agent. He had won the election by a margin of around 19,000 votes securing 34,341 votes.
The government had filed a case against Chaudhary in the Kaliali District Court considering him to be one of the main accused of the Tikpaur incident.
The Supreme Court (SC) in December, 2017 had refused to register a writ petition he tried to file through an agent on his behalf demanding he be released on date.
The single bench of Justice Tanka Moktan had ordered Chaudhary to seek legal remedy through the court if he were innocent when he again moved the SC against the administration's decision to not register his petition.
"The applicant must get acquittal through a legal process of the court if he were not guilty and the charges against him were false," the bench has said. "Knowingly allowing an accused a means of receiving the facilities and rights provided by the state by evading or defying the court process will promote impunity in the country," the bench has said.
