RAMILA SHRESTHA
I came to know through the media that the Maoist party has included the criminal (Kali Bahadur Kham "Bibidh") in its central committee. This is a very unfortunate decision. It has added insult to our injury. It is very unfortunate. This leads us to believe that Maoist Chairman (Pushpa Kamal Dahal) Prachanda´s repeated public commitments to punish him are all hollow. Related Story:
Ram Hari murder accused gets Maoist CC berthThe government has never addressed this problem seriously. It has also not made public the report prepared by the high-level commission it formed to carry out a probe into the murder of my husband, Ram Hari Shrestha. They won´t even share the report with us. We smell a rat in the government´s stated commitment to punish Kham and the other criminals – all from the Maoist party -- who were behind my husband´s murder.
Ramila Shrestha
Bijay Rai
After news about Kham being awarded a berth in the Maoist central committee came out, we tried to meet the Prime Minister, who is also the Maoist Chairman. But we are not being allowed to even talk to him on the phone. The Maoist party has a long tradition of honoring criminals. This has been the case with the murder of my husband also. I feel that Prachanda´s hand is behind the murder. If not, why has he honored Kham despite knowing that he is a criminal? He has already accepted that Kham is a criminal. Is Kham more powerful that Prachanda? Why does he honor a criminal with a top party post? If he could hand over to the police other members of his party indicted for the murder, why couldn´t he do the same with Kham. I think Prachanda is afraid that turning over Kham to the police may uncover his own involvement in the murder. We want the satisfaction of seeing the guilty punished. If you hide one crime, the criminal gets emboldened to commit a thousand other crimes. It is very unfortunate that the state has given protection to a criminal. The people should be made aware of this fact. Otherwise, these kinds of incidents will be repeated in future.
A copy of an agreement signed between Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Ramila Shrestha and Gyan Kumar Shrestha, who led series of street protest against Ram Hari`s murder last year. In the agreement, Dahal has pledged to take stern action against Kali Bahadur Kham among other accused in the murder.
Dahal never takes any issue seriously until and unless there is mounting pressure from the street and from the media. This has become his habit. Even now the time has come for us to hit the street. But, before taking to the street, we want to hand over a memorandum to the Prime Minister, with an ultimatum to nab and punish the guilty. We are also planning to hand in memorandums to all members of the Constituent Assembly (CA) and stage a sit-in outside the CA premises. So far, even the CA members haven´t been able to raise the issue seriously. If the issue is not addressed even after we have done all these things, we will hit the street. It will take some time.
In this murder case, the government has also undermined the courts by not handing over the accused to the police within 90 days. Hundreds of days have passed since the court ruling. This is contempt of court as wel.
As told to Tilak Pokharel (tilak@myrepublica.com) on January 15, 2009
Published on 2009-01-15 16:23:18
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Ram Hari murder accused gets Maoist CC berth
GHANASHYAM OJHA, TILAK POKHAREL, YUVRAJ ACHARYA
(Updated with link to OHCHR-Nepal press release of December 29, 2008)
KATHMANDU, Jan 15: The ruling Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has inducted Kali Bahadur Kham ´Bibidh´, the main accused in the murder of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha, on its Central Committee (CC).
Although the Maoists haven´t yet disclosed Kham´s name as a CC member, a Maoist source told myrepublica.com that the party, under its recent initiative to unify with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Center-Masal), withdrew all disciplinary action against Kham and included him in the expanded 106-member committee. The Maoists, following their unification with Unity Center-Masal, have a total of 175 Central Committee members.
We suspect Prachanda behind my husband`s murder: Ramila Shrestha
Maoist decision irks parties
Confirming Kham´s inclusion in the restructured CC following Maoist´s unification with Masal, senior Maoist leader CP Gajurel told myrepublica.com that Kham got the berth in the new committee by virtue of his membership in the party´s CC in 2005. The Maoist´s crucial meeting in Chunabang of Rolpa district had reduced the number of CC members from 95 to 35.
"Reinstating party´s CC members is one thing and the party´s disciplinary action against Kham is quite another," said Gajurel.
Kham, a commander of the People´s Liberation Army (PLA) at Shaktikhor cantonment, Chitwan had ordered the abduction of businessman Shrestha from Koteshwar in May 2008. Shrestha later died due to torture meted out by PLA men at the cantonment.
In the wake of Shrestha´s murder, the Maoists handed over two Maoist cadres to police and claimed that Kham was “still at large”. Following the murder, as outrage against the Maoists swelled in the streets, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (now the Prime Minister) met with Ram Hari’s wife Ramila and brother Gyan Kumar Shrestha to assure them that his party would probe the incident and take action against the guilty. Ramila has even named Kham as prime accused in public.
Related story: They did it again!
Although the Home Ministry has claimed that police have been on the lookout for Kham, a recent report issued by the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal said Kham is still in Shaktikhor cantonment. It further said the Maoist leadership ignored its request for a meeting with Kham.
Media reports had said that Kham had met Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa on October 22 during the latter´s visit to Chitwan. Local media in Chitwan had confirmed the meeting. They claimed to have noticed Kham meeting the defense minister.
The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, had sought clarifications from Defense Minister Thapa over the issue. Thapa has all along refuted claims that he had met Kham.
Kali Bahadur Kham: Between Ram Hari murder and Maoist CC
• On May 18 last year, Maoist party´s chairman Dahal (prime minister since August 18) had admitted that "some selfish elements" murdered Shrestha who had prior link with the Maoists.
• Shrestha was severely tortured in Shaktikhor cantonment site of the Maoists´ People’s Liberation Army and succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in Bharatpur, Chitwan. Kham, commander of the PLA’s Third Division, had rented a flat in Shrestha´s house, and abducted Shrestha following a dispute over missing of a personal weapon and some money.
• On May 22 Maoists formed an internal probe panel headed by Posta Bahadur Bogati to probe the murder. The panel comprising Hit Raj Pandey and Ekraj Bhandari confirmed Kham’s hand in the murder but the panel did make the report public.
• On May 24 PLA Deputy Commander Janardan Sharma said PLA "suspended" its Third Division Commander Kham for being allegedly responsible for the abduction, torture and subsequent killing Shrestha inside a Maoist cantonment.
• On July 16, a judicial probe committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice Rajendra Bhandari submitted report to the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, recommending legal action against nine Maoist cadres, including Kham, brigade commander Govinda Bahadur Batala, combatants Keshav Adhikari and Ganga Ram Thapa.
• Kham met Defense Minister Thapa at the Chitwan District Administration Office on October 26 and has been serving as commander of the Shaktikhor cantonment site though Maoists claim he was suspended. Thapa denied meeting Kham even though media reports gave ample proof of the meeting.
• On Nov 10, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam said the government has been searching for other six suspects including Kham.
• In the Maoists’ national convention that began on November 21, Kham was active participant.
• On January 12, 2009, Kham was appointed the Central Committee member of the party.
ghanashyam@myrepublica.com, tilak@myrepublica.com & yuvraj@myrepublica.com
Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=1113
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