Who is accountable for Balkumari shooting?

The government has formed a high-level commission to probe the killing of two young men—Birendra Shah and Sujan Raut—in a clash between South Korea job aspirants and police in  Balkumari, Lalitpur, on Friday.   

The three-member panel was formed following a nationwide outrage by the incident, which not only exposed a severe communication lapse between the law enforcement agency and the district administration office, but also the lack of restraint within the police force.   

A day after the incident, the government suspended the chief district officer and the police chief of Lalitpur. But this knee-jerk reaction without presenting any concrete evidence has ignited a blame game among government agencies, instead of an earnest quest for truth and accountability.

While the government has made a perfunctory gesture of providing Rs 1m each to the grieving families, the demand for truth and justice remains unmet. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha to resign on moral grounds. 

“It is futile to take action against police officers, the home minister should take responsibility and resign,”  said UML lawmaker Rajendra Rai. He added that the investigation commission can work independently only after the home minister has stepped down.  

Another UML lawmaker Krishna Gopal Shrestha also echoed Rai’s sentiment. He said the moral responsibility for the Balkumari tragedy falls squarely on the shoulders of Home Minister Shrestha.  

This call for resignation, however, faces resistance in a political landscape where officials are more inclined to deflect blame than admit mistakes. This call for resignation, however, faces resistance in a political landscape where officials are more inclined to deflect blame than admit mistakes.

A government official, let alone a minister, resigning out of moral conscience is unheard of in Nepal. They would rather put the blame on others than admit to their own mistake.  

Days have passed since the tragic incident, yet a clear narrative remains elusive. Conflicting reports suggest that the security personnel opened fire either in response to protesters setting fire to the car of Transport Minister Prakash Jwala or before such an incident occurred. Amidst the confusion, it's evident that communication failures between the police and the minister's security officer played a pivotal role.

Transport Minister Jwala's changing statements further muddy the waters, as he initially denied being in the car during the incident, only to later acknowledge it when video footage surfaced where protesters are seen taking control of his car and forcing him to come out. It is clear that the minister tried to lie about him not being in the car to keep himself out of the incident, because police have been saying that the situation escalated due to the minister’s arrival at the scene of the protest.    

Nepal Police chief Basanta Bahadur Kunwar told the Parliamentary Committee for State Affairs and Good Governance that the incident could have been averted if minister Jawala had not used the route where the protest was happening. But he had no clear response on why and when his officers resorted to firing upon the protesters. 

The parliamentary committee has instructed the government to investigate if and how minister Jwala’s car passing through the protest area made the situation worse. 

“The Parliament wants to know the exact role minister Jwala had played in this incident,” demanded Ram Hari Khatiwada, the committee chair. 

The committee also inquired Home Minister Shrestha about the Balkumari incident. He vowed to the committee that his ministry would take necessary action against the responsible party based on the findings of the high-level probe commission. 

But there is little optimism that the commission’s report will be revelatory, or identify the individuals truly responsible for the incident. Whenever the government forms a high-level investigation commission in Nepal, historically, it has turned out to be a diversion tactic to steer the public attenuation. After all, the reports of several high-level probe panels are yet to be made public.  

Additionally, there is a high chance of such panels failing to do their work in a fair and independent manner due to the influence of the political parties. The high-level probe commission formed to investigate the gold smuggling case from the Tribhuvan International Airport is one shining example. The commission, formed three months ago, is yet to prepare its report. Besides forming the commission, the government has not taken any measures to control gold smuggling. 

Even in those cases where the probe panels have submitted their reports, there is no single instance of the government taking action based on the recommendations of those reports.  

Balaram KC, former Supreme Court justice, said the government is simply trying to pacify the agitated society by forming the probe panel.

“In Nepal, we form a high-level probe panel for every case, which you do not see in other countries. Highly powered panels are only formed in rare and immensely significant cases,” said KC. “Our tendency to rely on high-level commissions clearly shows that the rule of law is not working.” 

Govt, victims’ families sign four-point deal

A four-point agreement has been reached between the government and the families of Birendra Shah and Sujan Raut, who were killed in police shooting in Balkumari, Lalitpur

, on Friday. As per the agreement, the government will provide employment to one member of each family, facilitate the provision of additional relief and take the initiative to declare the deceased as martyrs.

It is mentioned in the letter of agreement that the Ministry of Home Affairs will arrange for the bodies of the deceased to be taken to the respective districts. The agreement was signed by Umakant Adhikari, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs on behalf of the Government of Nepal, and Tek Bahadur Shah, the father Shah, and Tek Bahadur Katuwal, on behalf of Raut.