A ward chairperson has been assaulted in Parsa by police personnel. Ward Chairperson Ashutosh Chaturvedi of Birgunj Metropolitan City-25 was beaten by a group that included police officers.
Claiming that he was attacked by a group that included police personnel, he went to the police office seeking justice. The incident occurred on the night of Falgun 29 at around 9:15 PM.
The attack took place at Diamond Party Palace in Birgunj Metropolitan City-8. According to Ward Chairperson Chaturvedi, he was attacked while attending the birthday celebration of the son of Virendra Paswan, the owner of the party palace, and a Holi gathering of friends.
He stated that a group of 6-7 people attacked him. CCTV footage also shows the assault. It is claimed that while people were eating and drinking at the party palace, a group suddenly created a commotion and attacked the ward chairperson. The footage shows Chaturvedi and three others engaged in dining.
At that moment, a person wearing a blue jacket is seen approaching their table. One of the four individuals who were seated gets up and tries to escort the man in the blue jacket outside, as seen in the footage. The person, who was on the phone, refuses to leave and instead enters the venue. More individuals follow behind him.
Taking advantage of this moment, another group forcefully enters the party palace through a different door. The footage shows this group attacking Ward Chairperson Chaturvedi. Among the attackers, there is an allegation that a serving Senior Sub-Inspector (SI) of Nepal Police was involved. A violent clash breaks out between the two sides. Following the attack, Chaturvedi was injured but has now returned home after receiving treatment.
Chaturvedi has filed a complaint at the Parsa District Police Office, claiming that Senior SI Sagar Shamsher Rana, Police Constable Dipesh Kshetri, Birgunj-10 Ward Chairperson Sushil Shah Kanu, 42-year-old Bhushan Yadav from Birgunj-11, Bhusal Chaurasiya from Birgunj-32, 37-year-old Vicky Gupta from Birgunj-6, and Laxmanlal Gupta from Birgunj-10 were involved in the assault.
Despite filing a complaint on Chaitra 4, he has complained that the police have not taken immediate action. “It took a week for the SP to call me in. I’m going to the police office today; only then will I know what happens next,” he said.
He suspects that the attack could be retaliation for a cyber case previously filed against him.
Meanwhile, Madhesh Province DIG Lalmani Acharya said that an investigation is ongoing. “There are claims that a police SI was involved, as seen in the CCTV footage. Just because someone is in the police does not mean they will be protected,” DIG Acharya told The Ritible. “If the two sides do not reconcile, legal action will be taken against those involved, including police personnel. Instructions have already been issued for this.”
Since the incident occurred during Holi, if it was a minor dispute, it could be resolved through discussion. However, since a complaint has been lodged and no settlement has been reached, the case will proceed as per the law, he stated.
Senior SI Rana, who has been accused of involvement in the attack, has worked in plain clothes in the Terai region for a long time. Following the policy of removing long-serving undercover officers from the Terai, then-IGP Kunwar had transferred Senior SI Rana from the region.
After being transferred to a hilly district, Rana was later stationed in Kathmandu Valley Police Office, Ranipokhari, working in plain clothes. AIG Tek Bahadur Tamang of Ranipokhari stated that Rana was on leave during Holi. “After the video surfaced, we investigated how he got there, and it turned out his home is in the Terai region. He was also on leave at that time,” AIG Tamang told The Ritible.
After the video of the assault came out, the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, Ranipokhari, relieved Rana from duty and put him on leave, according to police sources.
“We have relieved him from duty. Since his official post was in Janakpur, he has been sent there,” said an officer from Ranipokhari. When attempting to contact Rana, his mobile phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, Birgunj-10 Ward Chairperson Kanu, who has been accused of involvement in the assault, claims that the video has been manipulated to portray them as guilty.
“Four of our people had their fingers broken, but no one is talking about that. The video was cut one-sidedly to spread propaganda against us,” Ward Chairperson Kanu told The Ritible.
