16 years after the Bandarmudhe bombing, the victim is still awaiting justice

CHITWAN: JUNE 6 – The victims of the Madi Bandarmudhe incident that claimed the lives of 42 people 16 years ago have complained that their problems remain the same. At least 75 people were injured when the then rebel Maoists targeted a passenger bus.

Thirty-nine people were killed at the scene. Three people died during the treatment. Three of the dead were Nepal Army personnel. A passenger bus coming from Madi’s Bagai to Bharatpur was ambushed near Bandarmudhe River on Jestha 23, 2062.

The victims have complained that they have not been able to get justice even after a long time. Bishnumaya BK of Madi Municipality-9 Ganeshgunj along with her 14-month-old daughter Susmita were involved in the same incident. Her right leg was broken and her head was injured in the incident. The little girl’s leg was injured. “We still haven’t got justice,” BK said.

Susmita, who was involved in the incident as a child, is studying in class 10 at Krishnanagar School. She complains of suffering from back and headaches every day. Krishna Prasad Adhikari, vice-chairman of the Bandarmudhe incident victims’ struggle committee, says that the pain of many is the same as that of BK. Due to the incident, six people became mentally ill and seven people with disabilities still have to take medicine, the official said. He complains that the state has not looked into it even after so many years.

He said that despite various assurances given by the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was elected from the same constituency in the last House of Representatives election, it has not been fulfilled. The victims have demanded that there should be a system of justice and reparation with truth and that there should be a partner according to the guilt. In the same incident, the injured officer had spent four years on Crutch. Both legs and back were broken.

Chief of Madi Municipality Thakur Dhakal said that the children of the victims’ families have been provided free education up to class 12, the families of the victims have been provided free treatment in Madi, relief has been distributed to 35 families as per the decision. In the municipality, 64 families have registered their names as victims.

Construction work of a park at Bandarmudhe incident site is underway with the support of the Bagmati State Government. According to him, the compound is being constructed at a cost of Rs 4 million this year. The park will have half-length statues of the deceased, kindergartens, gardens and other structures. He informed that there is a plan to build a park on two bighas and eight blocks of land by spending Rs. 80 million. Memorial Day has been observed this morning in memory of the incident. The victim’s family has commemorated the deceased by lighting a lamp at the memorial. -RSS