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80. Bir Bahadur Thapa
handcuffed.
At about 3 p.m. on April 28, 2002 (Baishak 15, 2059),
sixteen-year-old Bir Bahadur Thapa, a grade ten
student, was arrested by a group of five or six civilianclothed
RNA soldiers from his home in Bijauri VDC,
Dang district. The soldiers reassured the family they just
wanted to ask Thapa some questions, and that he would
return home soon. Villagers in the next village later told
the family that the soldiers had ordered Thapa to run
away—a common tactic used by RNA soldiers, who then
shoot the detainee and claim he was trying to escape—
but Thapa refused, and was then blindfolded and
The family was unable to report the case immediately, because the state of emergency
was declared soon after the arrest and they were afraid to leave their village. During the
ceasefire, relatives went to report the “disappearance” to human rights organizations and
the ICRC, and visited all the army barracks in the district, but learned no news. Another
relative was arrested in August 2004 (Bhadra 2061), and was told by a subinspector at
the regional police station in Ghorahi that Bir Bahadur Thapa had been detained there
for three months, but was not told what happened to him afterwards.
The family is adamant that Thapa was a student, and not involved in politics. However,
Thapa’s father is active in the political structures of CPN-M, and the family believes
Thapa was “disappeared” because of his father’s political activities. 77
81. Tej Man Chowdhury
On April 20, 2002 (Baishak 7, 2059), fifteen-year-old student Tej Man Chowdhury,
along with several other students, was on his way home from Satbaria VDC, where he
was attending a Maoist program. A group of RNA soldiers was waiting on the road and
started shooting at the group of approaching students. They wounded Chowdhury in the
collar-bone area and detained him, while the others ran away. He has not been seen
since then.
77
Human Rights Watch interviews with two relatives of Bir Bahadur Thapa, Dang, September 24, 2004.
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