Federal Council Chairman of Janata Samakjwadi Party Nepal and former prime minister (PM) Baburam Bhattarai has slammed the Dipayal High Court's endorsement of the life sentence slapped on party leader Resham Chaudhary over the Tikapur incident.
"Laws and courts are made to protect the status quo. It's, therefore, not new for the court to deem lawmaker Resham Chadharu, Laxman Tharu and others who are in campaign to free the oppressed Tharus guilty. Ironically Tharu rebellion has been deemed crime under the regime of the heroes of Jhapa rebellion and People's War. This injustice is intolerable. Salute to Tharu heroes!" Bhattarai, who was a top Maoist leader during the armed insurgency, tweeted Thursday night, hours after the High Court's endorsement.
PM KP Sharma Oli was part of the Jhapa rebellion wherein multiple persons were hacked to death five decades ago. He was jailed on murder charge for participating in the rebellion during the Panchayat regime.
Bhattarai vented ire on the ruling CPN formed after unification of Oli-led CPN-UML and the Maoists.
A bench of judges Tek Narayan Kunwar and Sitaram Mandal on Thursday endorsed the life sentence slapped on Resham Chaudhary, Hari Narayan Chaudhary, Pradeep Chaudhary, Bir Bahadur Chaudhary, Rajesh Chaudhary, Sitaram Chaudhary and Ganga Ram Chaudhary by the Kailali District Court.
It has also slapped life sentence on Laxman Tharu who was released on bail by the district court.
Resham 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, 2019 even as the case was sub judice in the district court. He remained in judicial custody and was not allowed to attend the House meeting even after being sworn in. He lost the post of lawmaker after the district court gave life sentence.
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 from Kailali-1 on Rastriya Janata Party ticket 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 had 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 had said.
