KATHMANDU – The government is forming a dialogue committee to release Resham Chaudhary who has been serving life sentence at Dillibazar prison after getting convicted for his role in orchestrating and carrying out the 2015 Tikapur incident.
According to Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ who reached Maitighar today to express solidarity with sit-in protesters demanding release of Chaudhary, the cabinet meeting scheduled for today afternoon will form a dialogue committee.
Stating that the government was positive towards demands raised by Tharu leaders, Home Minister Badal said that the government was in favor of resolving their problems through dialogue and talks.
“The government would like to address this issue by forming a dialogue committee. I urge you to join the talks.The cabinet meeting today will form the dialogue committee. This issue will be settled through talks soon,” Home Minister Badal told agitating Tharu protestors.
Tharu Kalyankaari Sabha and Tharuhat-Tharuwan Joint Struggle Committee, among other organizations are staging a sit-in at Maitighar Mandala from Sunday with a demand to release Chaudhary.
Chaudhary has been serving jail term in Dillibazar prison after the Kailali District Court in March in 2019 handed down a life sentence to 11 people including him for their connection in Kailali carnage of 2015.
Though Tharu leader Chaudhary won a seat for House of Representatives in 2017 from Rastriya Janata Party that later merged with Samajwadi Nepal to become Janata Samajwadi Party, he was sworn in as the lawmaker only in 2019. However, he was taken back to the prison immediately after the swearing-in ceremony.
Janata Samajwadi Party along with other Tharu and Madhesi groups have been demanding the release of Chaudhary who is considered to have a connection in the 2015’s Tikapur carnage in which Nepal Police SSP Laxman Neupane along with seven people were killed in a violent clash between Tharu protesters and police.
