The Surkhet High Court has upheld the life imprisonment sentence for the defendants in the Soti incident, where Navaraj BK and five others from Jajarkot were killed.
A bench of Judges Som Kanta Mainali and Matrika Prasad Bhandari upheld the life imprisonment sentence handed to 23 defendants in the incident. However, the punishment for caste-based discrimination was overturned, according to Prem Prakash Thapa, the court’s deputy registrar.
"The verdict has been partially reversed. The Rukum District Court had sentenced 23 individuals to life imprisonment, which has been upheld," Thapa said. "The district court had also imposed two years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 for caste-based discrimination and untouchability, which the high court has overturned. Since the compensation for victims and the life imprisonment sentences remain upheld, it is a partial reversal."
Life imprisonment equates to 25 years.
In this case, the district court had sentenced Dambar Bahadur Malla (the then ward chairman of Chaurjahari Municipality-8), Netra Bahadur Malla, Resham Malla, Sabin Pun, Nabin Kumar Gharti Magar, Biraj Pun Magar, Dhanraj Rana, Bhim Bahadur Pun, Ramit Pun Magar, Dilli Malla Thakuri, Prem Bahadur Thakuri, Santosh Malla, Man Bahadur Malla, Top Bahadur Malla, Mohan Pun Magar, Irda Bahadur Thakuri, Tilak Chand, Lipendra Kumar Malla, Harka Bahadur Malla, Binod Malla, Bishnu Malla, and the father and brother of Navaraj’s girlfriend (referred to as '54 Rukum West 36' (1) and '54 Rukum West 36' (3), respectively) to life imprisonment.
The high court upheld their life imprisonment.
The district court had sentenced the younger brother of Navaraj’s girlfriend to less than 25 years in prison due to his age. Along with life imprisonment, 17 defendants from the Thakuri community were also handed an additional two years’ jail sentence and a fine of Rs 50,000 each for caste-based discrimination.
Navaraj’s girlfriend and her mother were also sentenced to two years in prison for caste-based discrimination. However, the girlfriend could serve only one year and four months in prison as she was minor, the district court said in its verdict. With the high court overturning the punishment for caste-based discrimination, their sentences will be canceled, deputy registrar Thapa said.
The full text of the verdict is yet to be released, he added.
The Soti incident, which took place on May 23, 2020, is regarded as a caste-based massacre. Navaraj BK, Ganesh Budhamagar (17) from Bheri Municipality-4, Sanju BK (21), Lokendra Sunar (18) from Bheri Municipality-11, Govinda Shahi, and Tikaram Nepali (20) from Chaurjahari Municipality-1, Rukum West, lost their lives after they were attack by locals of Soti village that day. Their bodies were found on different days at various locations along the Bheri River.
Three days after the incident, on May 26, 2020, the victims’ families filed a complaint against 20 individuals at the District Police Office, Jajarkot. Based on the complaint, police arrested 20 people, including the then ward chairman Malla. Later, fourteen others were arrested based on the statements of the 20 individuals.
A case was then filed against the 34 individuals through the District Government Attorney’s Office. Eleven of them, including Navaraj’s minor girlfriend and her brother, were released on general date during the bail hearing.
In December 2023, the district court sentenced 23 individuals to life imprisonment. An appeal was filed at the Surkhet High Court against the decision on February 5, 2024. The high court delivered the final verdict on the appeal on Tuesday.
The district court noted that the defendants, acting as a mob, chased, attacked, and killed six individuals, before dumping them in the Bheri River’s ravine.
