“I hate to call it crossfire, what rapid action battalion attributes for the custodial deaths, as there must be two parties in any such incident. But the reality is the just found body of the victim” – Irene Khan
On 1 April 2022, the first day of Amnesty International Nepal’s 30th General Meeting, we (a team of members from Amnesty International Kathmandu University Youth Network) performed a lyrical drama showcasing how deaths happen during abusive investigatory practices in Nepal with almost no accountability in such cases.
Here’s the plot:
A girl dreamt of being a police officer and serving the country and people. However, an incident adversely affected her life. One evening, police arbitrarily arrested her father. They physically and sexually abused her mother and uncle just because they were trying to defend him arguing that her father was arrested on false charges. At the tender age of 14, she witnessed her father screaming for life and her mother and uncle begging for him to be spared of his life. She also witnessed how the police brutally beat up her uncle when he refused to accept inducement he was offered by police.
That very incident turned her life upside down. The patches of memories are still alive in her soul, which never allowed her consciousness to forgive those who tried to weigh up her father’s life with thousand notes of five hundred. Although the incident did affect her life in the beginning since she took it to heart, later she looked at it with a different perspective and she recalled her dream of becoming a police officer. Now she is determined that she wants to be a responsible and accountable police officer. She wants to bring reform in the abusive investigatory practices so that those at police custody do not lose their lives. Reform starts from an individual, and she wants to be the initiator for change.
The performers acted in such way that they deeply fit themselves into the pains and the suffering of the characters in the drama. Their performance with clear messages sensitized the audience. Although the act did not show the exact cause of death, it presented circumstances leading to a mysterious death in custody that was not properly investigated.
WATCH the performance recorded by one of the audiences and uploaded by Amnesty International Kathmandu University Youth Network in its YouTube.
Custodial death generally refers to the death of a person occurring during custody, directly or indirectly caused by and substantially attributable to acts committed upon the deceased while in custody. It includes death occurring in police station, private or public places, medical premises or in jail. It may also include death occurring while a person is being arrested, taken into detention, or being questioned.
In Nepal, there are reports of mysterious deaths in police custody almost every month. Police argue that most of the deaths in custody are due to suicide, chronic illness, sudden illness, etc., while the relatives of the deceased claim that such incidents are due to torture. As per the news story published in ‘The Wire’ in 2020, 18 people have died in police custody in Nepal in the last five years (June 2015 to June 2020). Holding anyone accountable in these deaths is almost impossible as these incidents have not been investigated so far.
Last January, four UN Special Rapporteurs expressed serious concern with the Government of Nepal over the deaths in custody and called for an investigation and accountability.
Amnesty Nepal is calling the Government of Nepal to take urgent and concerted actions to prevent custodial deaths, including through an independent, fair, and impartial investigations.
About the Author/s:
Anisha Jha
Anisha Jha, a third-year student of B. Tech in Environmental Engineering at Kathmandu University, is the coordinator of Amnesty International Kathmandu University Youth Network (AIKUYN). She believes anything is possible with proper delivery and instinct and wants to contribute her heart and soul to the welfare of humans and the environment protecting them.
Swosti Bastola
Swosti Bastola (Safalta), a second-year student of BBM-LLB at Kathmandu University School of Law, is an executive member of AIKUYN. She believes in acting better every day, leading the best as possible and prevent the worst with her soul embracing the intrinsic spirit of humanity.