Human Rights Group Alleges Security Force Shot and Killed Safari Driver Over Bribe Dispute

Biratnagar. The human rights organization Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) has published its report concerning the shooting by the Armed Police Force and the subsequent situation in Puri Tole, Koshi Rural Municipality-1, Sunsari, on the morning of Poush 17.

Fifty-year-old City Safari driver Bijay Sah, who was involved in transporting consumer goods from the Indian border market for his daily livelihood, was killed by a police bullet. INSEC stated that the incident occurred over a minor transactional dispute.

The on-site monitoring report, conducted by a team including INSEC Coordinator Manohar Kumar Pokharel, Human Rights Defenders Network Coordinator Devi Baskota, and rights activist Chunni Khatun, defined the incident as a serious violation of human rights by the state and the usurpation of the right to life.

The monitoring team concluded that on the day of the incident, Poush 17, at approximately 1:05 AM, Bijay Sah was returning home in his safari vehicle carrying consumer goods such as sugar and chocolate when he was stopped near the temporary post of the Armed Police Force number 2. A dispute arose between Armed Police Havildar Navraj Khatiwada, stationed at the location, and Sah over an additional demand of 500 Nepali Rupees for illegal collection.

The report mentions that security personnel often set their own rates for such illicit transactions and tacit approvals prevalent in border areas, and the anger stemming from the disagreement over the amount ultimately led to the death of an unarmed civilian.

According to facts collected by the monitoring team, the deceased Sah had delivered goods for the first time and had gone back to pick up a second load. While returning with the second consignment, Havildar Khatiwada demanded an additional 500 rupees, claiming the goods were too much, which initiated the dispute. As the argument escalated, Sah attempted to move his safari forward, but the security personnel responsible for security, instead of reasoning or taking legal action, directly threatened to shoot him.

Immediately, a bullet fired from extremely close range struck Sah in the chest and left arm, killing him in the driver's seat of his safari vehicle. Although the security agency initially attempted to claim it was an exchange of fire or self-defense, the team of rights activists who reached the scene found no evidence of such an encounter.

The fact that the deceased was completely unarmed and found dead in his workplace, the driver's seat, confirms that the security personnel's claim of an exchange of fire was false. Hearing the sound of the shots, locals initially assumed it was firecrackers during the New Year celebration, but the report notes that when the reality of the incident emerged, it incited anger throughout the entire Laukahi area the following day.

Angry locals and the deceased's relatives placed the body on the Laukahi section of the Mahendra Highway and began a protest. Protesters burned tires, completely halting traffic, shouting that a poor man's life was taken over 500 rupees. The situation escalated to the point where the mob vandalized and set fire to two temporary Armed Police Posts. The report further states that the enraged crowd then surrounded the BOP Laukahi office, where stones and even petrol bombs were hurled at the security personnel.

As the situation began to spiral out of control, the Armed Police Force used extensive force. The police fired 4 tear gas grenades and 118 tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, along with approximately 200 rounds of aerial fire in the highway area.

During this clash, 13 security personnel of the Armed Police Force were injured, including Armed Police Assistant Sub-Inspector Pralad Basnet, who suffered a serious injury to his nose. In terms of physical damage, the glass of three security agency vehicles was smashed, and communication equipment was also damaged.

For an administrative resolution, a five-point agreement was reached between the victim's side and the administration at the District Administration Office on Poush 17 itself. The agreement included points such as forming a 3-member investigation committee coordinated by the Assistant Chief District Officer, bringing the guilty security personnel under the scope of legal action, and immediately providing 100,000 rupees for funeral rites expenses.

However, the victim's family complained to the human rights team that their application for registering a complaint has not been accepted to date. The deceased's eldest son, Mahesh Kumar Sah, who is unable to work due to his own disability, expressed emotionally that his father's murder has taken away the family's support system. The deceased's wife, Geetadevi Sah, also appealed for justice, stating that security personnel deployed on the border took her husband's life for money and that her and her children's future is now dark.

The human rights monitoring team raised serious questions about the security management system in the border areas in its report. The team concluded that such violent incidents are often triggered by the opaque transactions and 'settings' between security personnel and traders. The report noted that the involvement of security personnel, deployed to protect the lives and property of citizens, in a murder mocks the rule of law.

The team also suggested that the accused security personnel should be impartially investigated and severely punished under criminal law, that the state should arrange long-term social security and appropriate compensation for the victim's family, and that the investigation committee's report must be made public to ensure that the guilty are not acquitted under any circumstances.

Furthermore, it was suggested to increase the use of technology alongside the physical presence of security personnel to stop smuggling in the border areas and to strengthen the customs administration.