Resham Chaudhary, who is serving live sentence at the Dilli Bazar Jail over the Tikapur incident, has registered a new party.
Chaudhary has got Nagarik Unmukti Party chaired by his wife Shrestha Ranjita registered at the Election Commission on Monday. Chaudhary tried to register the new party under him and has registered it under his wife after that was not possible.
Chaudhary had applied with the Department of Prison Management and the Election Commission on Sunday to go to the Election Commission for registration but was not allowed to go.
"There was no resolution from big political parties and Madhes-based parties we were affiliated with. Madhes-based parties also were not seen to be taking any initiative. It won't be done by others now. The issue of undivided Far West became a politicl agenda but that of Tharus did not," Shrestha stated. "We are, therefore, forming a new party to create new identity of Tharus with conclusion that we won't be cadres of other parties."
Chaudhary was with Mahantha Thakur-led Loktantrik Samajwadi Party Nepal (LSP) after the split in Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP).
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.
The Kailali District Court had slapped life sentence on Chaudhary over the Tikapur incident and the Dipayal High Court endorsed the life sentence. The case is currently sub judice at the Supreme Court (SC).
Chaudhary has been 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.
The Kailali District Court then had slapped life sentence on him and the Dipayal High Court had endorsed the district court verdict.
