The recent death of CK Raut’s cadre Ram Manohar Yadav, under police detention for showing black flag to Health Minister Upendra Yadav, while being taken to hospital for treatment has sparked controversy. Human rights activists, independent civilians and Raut have termed Yadav’s death an extra-judicial killing. Bardiya Police informed that Yadav, who was under their detention, died on August 31 while being taken to Kathmandu for treatment. The police said that Yadav died of heart problems arising due to high blood pressure. Spokesperson of CK Raut Abdul Khan accused of police negligence in the death of Yadav. Police had detained Yadav from a program organized by District Coordination Committee, Bardiya on August 23 in which Deputy Prime Minister Upendra Yadav was also present. The cadres of Raut along with Yadav showed black flag to DPM Upendra Yadav. The chief at Bardiya Police Surendra Prasad Mainali said that four people from Nepalgunj were arrested for obstructing a discussion program of District Coordination Committee in Gulariya. “They showed black flag. They even chanted slogans for secession,” Mainali said, “We handed them warrant immediately after the arrest. The District Court on August 24 extended judicial custody by seven more days.” Chief District Officer (CDO) of Bardiya Ram Bahadur Kurumbang said that four people including Yadav were arrested for chanting slogans seeking secession. “They tried to disrupt the program attended by DPM. They also chanted slogans seeking secession,” Kurumbang told Setopati, “We arrested them after they chanted slogans in favor of secession. People may think that we might have tortured them. But we did not do so.” He said that Yadav was immediately taken to the hospital after finding him unconscious in the police cell. He claimed that Yadav, whose left hand tremored while speaking, passed out due to high blood pressure. “The left part of his body did not function properly after he passed out in the prison. We took him to the district hospital near the police office within two-three minutes,” Mainali told Setopati. Meanwhile, Raut’s spokesperson claimed that police arrested Yadav only with a suspicion. “The black flags were shown while protesting against Yadav’s arrested,” Khan said, “Police did not give him medicines even when he asked.” He also claimed that Yadav died after after being denied regular hypertension medicines. Khan further said that police did not let them meet Yadav for two days. He claimed that police were slow in taking Yadav to the hospital although he passed out at 5 am. The police chief, however, denied such accusations. Mainali said that Yadav was immediately taken to District Hospital which referred him to Bheri Zonal Hospital. “We took him to Nepalgunj Nursing Home after the doctors at Bheri Zonal Hospital referred him to a hospital with ICU facility,” he said. Raut’s spokesperson Khan, on the other hand, complained that the police took two hours to take Yadav to Nursing Home after the Bheri Zonal Hospital referred him to a hospital with ICU facility. Bardiya CDO Kurumbang said that Yadav was then taken to Kathmandu accompanied by a medical officer and two police personnel after Nepalgunj Nursing Home said he could not be treated there. He breathed his last while being taken to Kathmandu. प्रहरीको नियन्त्रणमै रहेका बेला मृत्यु भएका सिके राउत समर्थक नेता राममनोहर यादवका आफन्तले उनको हत्या भएको आशंका गरेका छन्। स्वस्थ अवस्थामा पक्राउ परेका यादवको मृत्यु रहस्यमय भएको भन्दै उनका आफन्तले हत्याको आशंका गरेका हुन्। उपप्रधान एवं स्वास्थ्य मन्त्री उपेन्द्र यादवलाई कालो झन्डा देखाएको आरोपमा पक्राउ परेका बाँकेको जानकी गाउँपालिका–६ का यादव ३० वर्षीय यादवको गत शुक्रबार राति हिरासतमै मृत्यु भएको थियो। यही भदौ ७ गते बर्दियामा आयोजित एक कार्यक्रममा जाने क्रममा उपप्रधान एवं स्वास्थ्य मन्त्री उपेन्द्र यादवलाई कालो झन्डा देखाउँदै सरकारविरुद्ध नाराबाजी गरेपछि प्रहरीले सिके राउत समूहका जिल्ला सदस्य यादवसहित चार नेता पक्राउ गरेको थियो। पक्राउ परेका अन्यमा सिके राउत समूहका बाँके–बर्दियाका सह–संयोजक हरपाल सिंह, बाँके जिल्ला संयोजक हरफन शेष र क्षेत्रीय संयोजक राजितराम बर्मा छन्। उनीहरूविरुद्ध प्रहरीले राज्यविरुद्धको अपराधमा मुद्दा दर्ता गरी अनुसन्धान गरिरहेको छ। मुलकी अपराध संहिता ऐन २०७५ को दफा ४९ अन्तर्गत राज्यविरुद्ध अपराधमा १० वर्ष कैद र १ लाख रुपैयाँसम्म जरिवाना हुने व्यवस्था छ। पोस्टमार्टमका लागि यादवको शव काठमाडौंस्थित ट्रमा सेन्टरमा राखिएको छ। पोस्टमार्टम रिपोर्टको पर्खाइमा रहेका मृतकका भाइ विमल यादवले प्रहरीको नियन्त्रणमा रहेका आफ्नो दाइको मृत्यु रहस्यमय भएको बताए। ‘प्रहरीले स्वस्थ अवस्थामा पक्राउ गरेको दाइको कसरी मृत्यु भयो?,’ उनले भने, ‘हत्या भएको हुन सक्ने हाम्रो आंशका छ।’ वैदेशिक रोजगारीका लागि मलेसिया रहेका उनी शनिबार काठमाडौं पुगेका हुन् । उनी दुई दिनदेखि दाईको शव परीक्षण भइरहेको ट्रमा सेन्टरमा छन्। प्रहरी वृत्त महाराजगन्जमा दाइको हत्या भएको हुन सक्ने आशंका गर्दै विमलले घटनाको सत्यतथ्य छानबिनका लागि अदालत जाने बताए । ट्रमा सेन्टरमै रहेका मृतकका आफन्त जाफर यादवले पनि उनको हत्या नै भएको आशंका व्यक्त गरे । उनले भने,‘पोस्टमार्टमा रिपोर्ट आएपछि सबै कुरा बाहिर आउला ।’ कुनै संगठनमा आवद्ध भएकै आधारमा प्रहरीले भने काठमाडौंस्थित त्रिवि शिक्षण अस्पतालमा उपचारका क्रममा यादवको मृत्यु भएको दाबी गरेको छ । प्रहरीका अनुसार बिहीबार बिहान बेहोस भएका यादवलाई बर्दिया, बाँके हुँदै थप उपचारका लागि काठमाडौं लगिएको थियो । तर, उपचारकै क्रममा शुक्रबार राति २ बजे उनको मृत्यु भएको प्रहरीको भनाइ छ। यसैबीच प्रहरी हिरासतमा रहेका हरफन शेष पनि बिरामी भएका छन्। लामो समयसम्म पखाला चलेपछि शेषको अहिले बर्दिया जिल्ला अस्पतालमा उपचार भइरहेको छ। अस्पताल स्रोतका अनुसार पखालाबाट पीडित शेषलाई सलाइन पानी चढाएर उपचार गरिएको छ। update...................................... Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance) expresses its concern over the refusal of the Nepal Police to register the First Information Report (FIR) in the custodial death of Ram Manohar Yadav, a resident of Banke, on August 31. He was arrested by Bardiya District Police in Gulariya on August 23 for waving black flag at Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population Upendra Yadav. THRD Alliance has been seriously following up the issue as Ram Manohar Yadav’s final rites could take place only after postmortem is conducted for which filing an FIR is necessary. Despite continued efforts from the family members to file an FIR, Nepal Police has been denying to register it. The family members have refused to accept the body of their kin without FIR being lodged and an autopsy being conducted. Refusal to register an FIR It appears that Yadav, who was on medication for hypertension, died in the night of August 31 in police custody due to lack of timely medical care. Family members said police did not take Yadav to medical centre in time to treat his medical condition and they took the victim to TU Teaching Hospital only on August 31 in an ambulance, when it was too late to treat him. TU Teaching Hospital declared that Yadav was brought dead. Yadav’s family members’ efforts to lodge an FIR in Kathmandu, Banke and Bardiya district have not succeeded. They went to Maharajgunj Police Office in Kathmandu on September 2 to file the FIR but the police refuted to register it. On September 3, Yadav’s family members went to District Police Office, Banke to register an FIR but this office too denied registering the FIR citing lack of jurisdiction. The same day the victim’s family members went to District Police Office, Bardiya to register an FIR. This office too refused to register the FIR. It told the family members that it could consider registering the FIR if they did not name Chief of District Police Office, Bardiya Superintendent of Police Surendra Prasad Mainali in the FIR. Following that, family members went to Police Headquarters in Naxal, Kathmandu on September 4, seeking to register an FIR, however, they had to return empty handed as the head office refused to register the FIR. On September 5, they went to National Human Rights Commission in Lalitpur to seek its help to file an FIR. Similarly, family members of Yadav again went to District Police Office, Bardiya on September 6 but once again the office refused to file the FIR saying SP Mainali had been named in the FIR. Family members in trauma Since, family members have not been able to see the body of Yadav due to delay in postmortem, they are going through extremely traumatic experience. Yadav’s father, mother, wife and children are crying and inconsolable. Unable to bear shock of the death of family’s bread winner, the family members have fainted multiple times since the death of their loved one. The family has been denied of their right to perform rites of their loved one. Background Yadav, who was a district member of Alliance for Independent Madhes (AIM), was arrested on August 23 from the auditorium of Bardiya District Coordination Committee along with Western Regional Coordinator of AIM Irfan Ahmed Sheikh, District Co-coordinator Harpal Singh Sodi and District member Rajit Ram Verma. The four had gone to attend a programme scheduled to be addressed by Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav. The police arrested these people mainly because they feared that they could pose questions to DPM Yadav regarding the Madhes movement. When these people were arrested by the police, they waived black flag against Yadav. They were charged under sedition law and were sent to District Police Bardiya. It was claimed that Yadav died in the night of August 31 after the police delayed taking him to hospital. Yadav’s family members, who could have provided him with his hypertension medication, were not allowed to meet him for two days after his arrest on August 23. Yadav then asked the police for hypertension medication but the police refused to give him the medication. Yadav, who reportedly suffered from a severe headache due to hypertension, was found unconscious at 5am on August 30. When other detainees found Yadav unconscious, they informed the police, following which the police first took him to Gulariya District Hospital and later to the Nepalgunj-based Bheri Zonal Hospital. He was not provided any treatment at Gulariya District Hospital. There was no ICU available for Yadav in Nepalgunj hospital. Dr Paras Shrestha of the same hospital called Nepalgunj-based Medical College and urged the hospital administration to admit Yadav in its ICU but the police did not admit him to the ICU and rather pressurized the family members to sign a document. The police said they could take Yadav to Kathmandu only if his family members signed a document agreeing that they would be responsible if anything happened to Yadav during the course of transportation. Yadav’s condition deteriorated as he failed to get proper care for a long time. THRD Alliance Regional Office Nepalgunj on August 30 issued a press release urging all not to create any obstacle to Yadav’s treatment following which the police admitted Yadav to the ICU Ward at Nepalgunj-based Medical College. On August 31, the police put Yadav on oxygen support and transported him to Kathmandu in an ambulance. TU Teaching Hospital declared him dead on arrival. Meanwhile habeas corpus writs have been filed at the Nepalgunj High Court on behalf of other detainees. The court has ordered the defendants to produce the four detainees on September 2. THRD Alliance demands that the government launches an impartial probe into the incident and punishes those found responsible for Yadav’s death, by omission or commission. THRD Alliance also urges the government to provide compensation to the victim’s family. THRD Alliance also urges the National Human Rights Commission and non-governmental human rights organisations to investigate the death of Ram ManoharYadav. Conclusion THRD Alliance demands that Nepal Police register an FIR so that postmortem can be conducted and final rites of Yadav can be performed. THRD Alliance also urges the government to investigate the custodial death of Yadav.