Darchula incident: Security challenge to eyewitnesses
DARCHULA: AUGUST 4 – Jaisingh Dhami of Darchula’s Byans Rural Municipality-2 Malghat fell into the Mahakali River and disappeared when he was about to reach Khalanga, the district headquarters. While he was crossing the river through Tuin (Iron rope or wire), news spread that he had fallen into the Mahakali River after the Indian Security Forces (SSB) pulled iron rope/wire. Initially, the SSB cut Tuin’s rope and he fell into the river and disappeared. Later, after interrogating the so-called eyewitnesses, it was found out that the SSB had untied the rope tied to the tree and then Dhami fell into the River.
Based on the statements of those who admitted that they were eyewitnesses of the incident, it is said that the Nepali youth had to fall into the Mahamali river and disappear due to SSB. The grief of the incident and the inhumane treatment meted out by the SSB to Nepalis are on the one hand and the ‘eyewitnesses’ who have provided information about the incident on the other.
A ring has been ringing on their mobile phone since the incident on Friday. They are ready to elaborate on the incident. Journalists in the capital Kathmandu, including in the far west, have been calling people from other organizations, police administration and other people to inquire about the incident.
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Witnesses of the incident are Kalyan Singh Dhami, Bikram Rankoli and Anita Dhami. Although their names have already been made public, villagers say they are now facing security challenges. After the name became public, panic has increased among them.
Now they have reached Khalanga district headquarters to tell about the incident. After the incident on Friday, they felt safe while staying in the village till Sunday. They has not been able to speak about the incidents as much as they did when they were in the village.
They (eyewitnesses) were called to Khalanga district headquarters on Monday after the government formed an investigation team led by the joint secretary of the home ministry and sent it to Darchula to investigate the incident. They left Malghat on Monday morning and reached the district headquarters at 5 pm. They have been under police surveillance since Monday. They were taken to the police office as soon as they reached Khalanga and got information about the incident for some time. In the process, the police did not allow them to meet anyone for a few hours. Journalists were also allowed to meet only after 8 pm.
After keeping them in the police office till late in the evening, the police have arranged for them to stay outside the hotel with security for fear of protests and misinformation. But police have not made it public that they face security challenges. Police have not commented on the security arrangements made for the eyewitnesses at the hotel. They themselves do not want to talk about it. But according to sources, along with the three eyewitnesses, some security personnel have also been kept at the hotel.
The villagers have said that SSB has been angry with the people of Malghat since the incident. Before coming to Khalanga to express his views on the incident, eyewitness Kalyan Singh had said, “Now the road to Khalanga via India is also closed.” At present, it is not possible to go to Khalanga through that road. We are walking for a day. The SSB is still in a state of panic. Even after reaching the district headquarters, they were scared and in fear of getting into trouble, according to those who saw them in Khalanga.
However, they did not change their statement to the police. The investigation team that arrived on Tuesday evening has been understanding about the incident with eyewitnesses since Wednesday. In the process, they feel the security challenge has increased and they are afraid that they will say something different from the reality of the incident.
But it is important to pay attention to the possibility that they may have been intimidated or intimidated by police protection since their arrival and that this may have affected their morale.
The state should be able to guarantee them security and not get involved in any trouble. Otherwise, the information about the incident may be different from the reality. As soon as the factual information about this incident comes out, the state will be able to take diplomatic initiative to prevent further incidents. If the SSB’s mistake is confirmed by the investigation, they should be brought to justice. For that to happen, an investigation into the incident must be effective. Then the state will need strong diplomatic initiatives.
Not only this time and not only in Malaghat, the fact that the Indian SSB has repeatedly abused Nepalis is a subject that Nepalis at the border and India have been saying. As tragic as this incident is, it is also an opportunity to prevent such incidents from happening again. What needs to be done now to bring out the reality of the incident through effective investigation is not to let the eyewitnesses who have reached the district headquarters lose their temper.
