Provincial assembly member from Lumbini Bimala Kumari Khatri Oli has filed abduction case against former chief minister (CM) Shankar Pokharel and three others.
Chief Whip of CPN (Maoist Center) in the province Tularam Gharti told Setopati that he went to the Area Police Office, Butwal along with Oli on Monday and lodged abduction complaint against Pokharel, CPN-UML Chief Whip in the province Bhumishwore Dhakal, driver with Pokharel's secretariat Tiran Gautam and UML leader from Dang Man Bahadur Raut.
He said the complaint has been filed as Oli was forcibly taken from her house at Tulsipur Sub-metropolitan City 6 on July 30 on instruction of Pokharel and kept hostage at the CM's Office in Butwal for five days.
DSP at the Area Police Office Madan Kunwar confirmed that the abduction complaint has been filed against four by Oli. "The complaint will not be registered in Butwal. That will be done from Dang," he stated.
Chief of Rupandehi Police Manoj KC told Setopati that the complaint has to be filed in Dang as the incident started there. "We are sending that to Dang as it is not related to us. We are sending it there as it is under their jurisdiction," he reasoned.
Chief of Dang Police Suresh Kafle said he has also heard rumors about the complaint. "The case is handled at the place of incident. The place of incident is Butwal. Why send the case from there to Dang?" Kafle asked. "We will look at law, lawyers will speak. We will do accordingly."
Maoist leader Gharti said the party waited for Pokharel to self-criticize and didn't lodge the complaint immediately after the incident despite the atrocities on Oli as Pokharel is a politician. But Pokharel has not apologized or self-criticized over the incident.
The Maoist parliamentary party in Lumbini organizing a press conference in Butwal on August 5 had revealed that Oli, who was not seen in public functions since July 31, is with the party just four days after issuing a statement swearing allegiance to CPN-UML.
She accused the then CM Shankar Pokharel of holding her captive against her wishes claiming she was not allowed to get out of the CM's office from August 1 till August 4. She alleged Pokharel of wooing her to join UML promising her the post of minister and claimed that she was forced to sign on the statement issued in her name on August 2 along with a few registers that looked like minutes without reading them.
She further claimed that she eventually escaped what she implied to be forced captivity after the mental torture became too unbearable in the morning on August 4. "I escaped on slippers of the toilet at around 11:45 when everyone was taking a rest and reached the parliamentary party office of CPN (Maoist Center) where I felt I reached an open and independent world. I could not become public on the day I was free as I was mentally very tired. I have produced myself before the people through you media persons today."
Oli had won the by-election in Dang-3(B) on ticket of the then CPN formed after unification of UML and CPN (Maoist Center) after her husband Uttar Kumar Oli, who was elected from the constituency on a UML ticket, died in a traffic accident.
She had initially pledged allegiance to Maoist Center after the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated unification of UML and Maoist Center on March 7 restoring the two parties to the state they were in before the unification.
Khatri was free to choose either of the two parties without losing the post of lawmaker having won the election on the ticket of the then CPN, and the two parties are competing with each other to bring her into the fold.
