Police have arrested Chiran Kumar Budha of the Nepal National Army on September 29 on the charge of beating the civilians at the Chitwan National Park Army.
Bishnu Lal, the father of the deceased Raj Kumar Chepang, had lodged a complaint at the District Police Office on September 10 mentioning the name of the perpetrator after the death of his son Raj Kumar Chepang of Rapti Municipality-2 on July 23.
Earlier, the victim’s family had lodged a complaint with the District Police Office, Chitwan on July 26.
According to the District Police Office, the police have started taking statements from the accused. According to Chitwan Police Chief SP Nantiraj Gurung, statements have been taken from the army personnel involved in the case.
He said, “The case will gain more momentum as many issues are under investigation, nothing can be said right now.” After all the details of the case have been finalized, the report will reach the government office, said SP Gurung.
The incident was monitored by INSEC, Advocacy Forum and Third Alliance.
The report concludes that the victim died due to the beating, he could not be treated in time due to lack of funds and the doctors of Bharatpur Hospital neglected to check the health of the other injured victims. The report also suggested that those found guilty in such incidents should be prosecuted through the regular system.
According to the victims, the army beat, tortured and abused five of the seven men who entered the park, except for two women.
Another victim of the incident, Santosh Tamang, had said that the victim could not walk when he was returning home after being tortured on July 16.
Purna Chepang, 23, Sant Lal Praja, 32, Bam Bahadur Magar, 32, and Gopiram Praja, 32, of Milan tole in Rapti Municipality-2 were also beaten in the incident.