Twenty three organisations condemn the Rukum incident

Kathmandu - Twenty three various organisations have condemned the incident that took place at Soti, Chaurjahari-8 of West Rukum last Saturday. Five people were killed in the incident related to caste discrimination. Among the organisations flaying the heinous incident include the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Youth Advocacy Nepal, the Sustainable Development National Campaign Nepal and the National Disabled Youth Network Nepal. These organisations have described the incident as a crime against humanity and the most heinous form of caste based discrimination.

A group of youths including Nawaraj Bishwakarma was going towards Soti to the house of Sushma Malla. Malla is Bishwokarma's girlfriend and the group was going for their marriage. Malla comes from the so-called high caste while Bishwokarma is from the so-called low caste. The group was attacked by the locals including Chaurjahari rural municipality-8 chair and members from the girl's family on the way. Some members of the group of 19 youths including Bishwokarma were attacked and reportedly thrown into the Bheri river.

Twelve people of the group had sustained injuries and six people had gone missing in the incident. The bodies of five of the missing people including that of Bishwokarma have been recovered. These organisations have called on the government for an impartial investigation into the incident and bringing the culprits to book. Leaders of various political parties, rights activists, the Dalit civil society organisations and the other related stakeholders have also protested this heinous act of bigotry and demanded strong legal action against the culprits.