Anil Chaudhary

A 15 year old indigenous boy ill-treated and extra-judicially killed.

FACTS

On 15 March 2004, Anil Chaudhary, an indigenous boy, pertaining to the ethnic group of the Tharu along with his friend Ram Prasad Chaudhary, were ill-treated and extra-judicially killed on their way to school in Fattepur located in Bardiya District by joint security forces on the allegations of their involvement with the Maoist guerrilla.

On 16 March 2004, upon the receipt of the information through the local radio, Mr. Anil Chaudhary’s parents found the corpses barely covered with sand near canal with both hands tied with shoe-laces behind their back in their school uniforms. With the fear of the potential return of the joint security team the body was never given for an autopsy, they brought the corpse to the village, performed the funeral rituals and eventually buried him on 17 March 2004.

Read more: here

PROCEDURE

On 17 March 2004, Anil’s family submitted a complaint to National Human Rights Commission, but it did not produce any meaningful result.

In June 2004, a compensation claim was submitted to the District Court of Bardiya. The claim was rejected and the decision was upheld by the Appellate Court (now High Court) in Nepalgunj.

On 4 October 2013, Anil’s family made an attempt to lodge First Information Report (FIR)[FIRs are the first step to trigger the opening of an investigation in any case] to the District Police Office and District Administration Office. Despite several efforts, the FIR was not registered. On 27 October 2013, a request for a mandamus order was submitted before Appellate Court in Nepalgunj. On 5 November 2014, the Court issued the mandamus order. Notwithstanding the mandamus, the District Police Office of Bardiya did not register the FIR. In 2015, a new request for a mandamus order was lodged before the Appellate Court in Nepalgunj. On 5 August 2015, the Appellate Court in Nepalgunj upheld the applicants’ requests and issued a certiorari order to register the complaint. However, the District Police Office of Bardiya refused once more to register the FIR.

In February 2016, the authors lodged a contempt of court complaint before the Appellate Court in Nepalgunj. While this complaint was pending, the District Police Office of Bardiya informed that, in the meantime, an FIR had been registered. However, the family’s attempts to obtain a copy of the FIR and information on its contents and progress have been met by an open refusal of the District Police Office of Bardiya. To the knowledge of the authors, no significant step has been undertaken since the alleged registration of the FIR.

On June 2016, Mr. Anil Chaudhary’s parents submitted a complaint to Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), a mechanism to address the human rights violations during the conflict. However, no investigations were done against the crime committed against Mr. Anil.

Read the decision: English

RECOMMENDATIONS

The committee recommended that Nepal investigate the facts of the case and to prosecute and sanction those responsible in a manner that is commensurate to the extreme gravity of the crimes; ensure that they have free of charge access to adequate psychological rehabilitation and medical treatment through specialized institutions; provide adequate measures of satisfaction; including a public apology from the State party security forces and the building of a memorial in their son’s name to restore his name; dignity and reputation; and to adopt guarantees of non-repetition, including the amendment of existing flawed legislation and the training on human rights and international humanitarian law of all public officials and other persons.