The Maoist attack on Deuba

Nepali Congress had recently split. The president of the splinter group, Nepali Congress (Democratic), was former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. He was on a nationwide tour to expand the party organization.

On 23 Aug 2002, there was a mass meeting in Kanchanpur. After concluding the meeting, Deuba reached Dhangadhi on the same evening. The next day, on Aug 24, he met with party workers in the morning, had lunch, and departed from Dhangadhi at 1pm with plans to reach Nepalgunj by 4pm.

Since King Gyanendra had removed him from power, the government had not provided Deuba with an official vehicle, nor had they arranged adequate security for him. Deuba was traveling in his own Toyota Land Cruiser, accompanied by a driver and two bodyguards.

Deuba’s car was being escorted by a police vehicle. In the lead vehicle, which belonged to the Department of Roads, there were seven police personnel. The vehicle had only been secured with difficulty, as the Chief District Officer had initially sent a vehicle covered with a tarpaulin, which Deuba’s bodyguard, Sub-inspector (SI) Ramji Katuwal, had rejected. Katuwal had then arranged for the vehicle from the Department of Roads, which was now carrying the police escort.

About 45min after leaving Dhangadhi, Deuba's vehicle reached Amkhaiya in Pahalwan Pur. Some 7-8 Maoist fighters in combat dress were standing on the road with the intent of stopping the vehicle.

The geographical area of Amkhaiya, situated between Pahalwanpur and Masuriya on the East-West Highway, was ideal for ambushing vehicles on the road. There were hills on both sides of the road, and a forest in between. SI Katuwal quickly realized that the Maoist fighters were already positioned in the forested hills on either side, ready to attack.

He noticed an LMG (Light Machine Gun) placed on a tripod and ready to fire. The vehicle was moving at over 100km/h, and he instructed the driver to speed up even more. When the attempt to stop the vehicle failed, the Maoists opened fire with the LMG from both sides of the road. The bullets punctured both rear tires of the police vehicle, which continued moving on its rims. The Maoists then launched a barrage of gunfire at Deuba’s vehicle, hitting it three times.

One bullet struck the front bonnet, another the tail light on the right, and the third hit the upper part of the front wheel cover. All the bullets were deflected by the vehicle's metal body. The can didn’t sustain much damage. The sound of bullets hitting the vehicle was loud, and Deuba asked Katuwal if stones had been thrown at the car.

The police in the lead vehicle fired back while lying down, and the police vehicle continued to advance under heavy fire from the Maoists above.

At around 1:45pm, a police vehicle arrived at the scene. A group of Maoists attempted to stop the vehicle, but it didn’t stop. The Maoists then fired from the LMG which hit the rear tires of the lead vehicle. To protect Deuba from the attack, SI Katuwal moved him to the back seat, covering him along with another bodyguard, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Babukaji Khadka.

The location, the premeditated nature of the attack, and the presence of Maoist fighters in the area all indicated that the Maoists had intended to kill Deuba. “We managed to escape with him,” Katuwal recalled, adding, “We covered him so thoroughly that a bullet would have had to go through us to reach him.”

With the tires of the police vehicle damaged by the bullets, its speed decreased. Deuba’s vehicle then pulled ahead, leaving the police vehicle behind. Despite the damage, the police vehicle also managed to get out of Amkhaiya. After clearing the forested area, Deuba’s vehicle finally stopped. The police vehicle arrived shortly after but was in no condition to continue. The driver had somehow managed to get the vehicle there and save all the police personnel. 

SI Katuwal then transferred the seven police personnel from the lead vehicle into Deuba’s vehicle. The driver, Prem, then sped towards the security base camp in Sukhad. It was around 2:30 pm. When Deuba’s vehicle arrived at Sukhad, the Maoists set fire to the police vehicle that had been left behind on the road.

Prem Khatri, who worked with the Armed Police Force, was Deuba’s driver. Khatri remained calm during the attack, controlling the vehicle with composure and safely reaching Sukhad. “Only then did we all feel safe,” said Katuwal.

“Thank goodness nothing happened,” Katuwal remarked. Despite the severity of the attack, Deuba remained composed. SI Katuwal had a police walkie-talkie set, but it didn’t work in the jungle, so he was unable to inform higher authorities about the Maoist attack.

From Sukhad, SI Katuwal informed the Chief District Officer about the Maoist attack on Deuba. 

Katuwal then contacted Deuba’s residence to inform them that he was safe. Deuba’s wife, Arzu Rana, was attending a program in Parbat and couldn’t be reached, so Katuwal relayed the information to Deuba’s brother-in-law, Bhushan Rana. Deuba later spoke to his wife, Arzu, after 7 pm.

It was during a ceasefire, and Deuba, having been ousted from power by King Gyanendra, had no reason to suspect that the Maoists would attack him. That is why he had set out from Dhangadhi to Nepalgunj with only minimal security. The country was under direct rule by the king, and the government had been so negligent in providing security to the former prime minister that they hadn’t even provided him with an official vehicle. Deuba had to have his own Toyota Land Cruiser brought from Kathmandu.

Deuba was unwilling to stay in Sukhad overnight. He informed SI Katuwal that he planned to stay in Nepalgunj that night. However, Katuwal advised against it, as there was no guarantee that the Maoists wouldn't attack again, and it wasn't safe to head to Nepalgunj.

The news of the attack on Deuba had spread like wildfire. The Chief District Officer informed the Ministry of Home Affairs about the incident. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Hem Bahadur Gurung was the Chief of Police in the Mid-Western region at the time. SI Katuwal requested a helicopter from Gurung, but the government was unwilling to send a military helicopter. The DIG informed Katuwal that a private helicopter couldn’t be arranged either, citing security risks.

Chief of the Nepali Army, Prajwal Shamsher JBR, called to get details about the attack and security situation. He then arranged for an anti-mine vehicle to be sent to Sukhad. Deuba was willing to go to Nepalgunj in that vehicle, but it couldn’t accommodate the entire police team. Deuba didn’t want to stay in Sukhad; he wanted to move on. However, Katuwal advised that it wouldn't be wise to move immediately.

Deuba was scheduled to address a mass meeting of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) in Tulsipur, Dang, the next day. He was concerned that if he didn’t attend, it would send a message that he had been frightened away, and this would demoralize the party workers.

“The attack on Deuba wasn’t premeditated. It was an accidental incident,” said KC. That evening, Sudurpaschim Bureau In-charge of the Maoists, Post Bahadur Bogati, issued a statement, apologizing and acknowledging that the attack on Deuba was a mistake.

That night, Deuba stayed in Sukhad. Additional security forces were deployed for his protection. The next morning, the Defence Secretary sent a helicopter, which Deuba took to Nepalgunj. After having lunch in Nepalgunj, Deuba flew on a helicopter to Tulsipur in Dang and addressed the party’s mass meeting before returning to Kathmandu.

Following Deuba in another vehicle were senior party leaders, including Bimalendra Nidhi, Prakash Man Singh and Pradeep Giri. Upon learning about the attack on Deuba, they stopped at the Armed Police Force’s Badimalika Battalion in Banbehda and stayed there for the night. The next day, they too traveled to Tulsipur via Nepalgunj.

That evening, Sudurpaschim In-Charge of Maoist Post Bahadur Bogati issued a statement apologizing, stating that there had been no plan or decision to attack Deuba and that the incident had occurred by mistake.

‘Deuba got caught in the crossfire by mistake’

It was during a ceasefire. Four Maoist cadres who had returned home were killed in an attack by the police in Badhaipur, Masuriya. After that incident, the Maoists were furious with the police and decided to retaliate in kind: ‘an eye for an eye’. They planned to kill the police in the same manner that the police had killed their comrades.

For several days, a battalion of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army had been waiting near Masuriya and Pahalwanpur area, preparing to ambush the police. The battalion was commanded by Bijay KC. His team received intelligence that a police unit was coming from Attariya. The Maoists had already chosen the location for the ambush—the Amkhaiya forest in Pahalwanpur.

Amkhaiya lay on the route between Masuriya and Pahalwanpur. With hills on both sides, it was an ideal location for the Maoists to attack vehicles on the road. They positioned themselves on the hills, ready to ambush the  police vehicles.

The police vehicle arrived at around 1:45 pm. A group attempted to stop the vehicle on the road, but it didn’t stop. Then, the Maoist fighters positioned on the hills opened fire with an LMG. The bullets fired by the Maoists damaged both rear tires of the lead vehicle. The driver, without losing control, sped up the vehicle. After that, they attacked the vehicle behind. The rear vehicle sped forward so quickly that it dodged the bullets, though three bullets did hit the vehicle. However, the bullets struck the vehicle’s metal body and did not cause any significant damage.

The Maoist fighters were disappointed that their ambush on the police had failed. They had been waiting to ambush the police to avenge the killing of their comrades.

As evening fell, news spread everywhere that former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had been attacked by Maoists in Aamkhaiya, Kailali. “We were shocked,” Commander Bijaya KC, involved in the attack, said, “We were planning to attack the police, but mistakenly ended up attacking the vehicle carrying former Prime Minister Deuba.”

“Our intelligence had informed us that the police were on their way, and based on that information, we had positioned ourselves for an attack in Aamkhaiya,” KC explained. “When the police vehicle arrived, we attacked from the hills with an LMG. Although the bullets damaged the vehicle, the driver managed to maintain control and sped away, preventing any casualties.”

“We had no idea that the police were escorting the former Prime Minister’s vehicle. The incident happened due to a failure in our intelligence. Neither was it an attack on Deuba, nor did the Maoist party have any such plan or decision.”

“We only realized later that Deuba had been caught in our attack. Fortunately, nothing happened to him. We used the LMG because we couldn't find a suitable spot to deploy the rocket launcher,” KC added. “Had we used the rocket launcher, no one in the vehicle would have survived.”

“The attack on Deuba was not intentional; it was an accident,” KC stated. 

Accordingly, Post Bahadur Bogati, the in-charge of the Far-Western Bureau of the Maoist, issued a statement apologizing for the unintentional attack on Deuba.

Unofficial translation of an excerpt of Upadhyaya's book ‘Dwandwa Patrakaritako Ek Dashak’ (A decade of conflict journalism)