“Like We Are Not Nepali”

All of the families alleged that the police behaved roughly and issued threats. For example,
a neighbor reported that the police said,
“We’ll come back at night and get your daughter-in-law.”… We were so
scared that we locked the door and went to the toilet indoors all night [the
family toilet is outside the main building]. They threatened to take away the
children if we didn’t produce my husband, but he has gone to India to work.
“They beat my mother-in-law,” said the wife of another one of the arrested men. 31
According to another woman,
The police came and beat my husband. They were shouting, “We feel like
shooting all of you. You bloody illiterate Tharus, all you know is playing with
your mobile phones.” … [At first] they asked about our husbands and when
we said they had gone to India [for work] they said, “Since you are not
speaking the truth we will come back at midnight and if we find them we
will shoot them.” We were scared that if we said anything they would shoot
us. They made four or five people sign documents. 32
Another woman said,
We were standing in front of our shop. They called us over then started
beating my husband. Any woman they saw in the village they would call her
over and ask about her husband. They said, “You are all criminals. You are
all murderers.” 33
The security forces visited the village on three or four further occasions. Although they did
not conduct more searches or make people sign documents, these visits contributed to the
continuing fear of the villagers. Villagers told Human Rights Watch they wanted police to
“stop terrifying” them.
31 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld), Manuwa, September 12, 2015.
32 Ibid.
33 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld), Manuwa, September 12, 2015.
“LIKE WE ARE NOT NEPALI” 22