Gaurishankar Ram Chamar, 43, a direct eyewitness and victim of the bomb explosion that took place on April 9, 2008, at the shed of Sheikh Idrish, uncle of former minister and lawmaker Mohammad Aftab Alam in Farhadwa, Rajapur of Rautahat, has expressed sadness over the High Court’s verdict. Ram, who was injured in the explosion that day and underwent treatment for more than three months at Sitamarhi Hospital in India, still bears marks of bomb fragments across his body.
On July 7, Gaurishankar Ram told INSEC that although the District Court’s earlier verdict provided some relief to his old wounds, he is deeply saddened by the recent acquittal. That is why he has come to Kathmandu to seek justice. Twelve years ago after the bomb explosion, police arrested Member of Parliament and former Minister Mohammad Aftab Alam on October 6, 2019. They presented him before the Rautahat District Court, which ordered his remand for trial on November 15. The bench of Judge Matrikaprasad Acharya, on April 25, 2024, at the Rautahat District Court, sentenced four individuals, including Alam, Mahtab Alam, Sheikh Seraj (also known as Sheikh Saraj), and Badri Sahani, to life imprisonment. At the time of the incident, the National Code (Muluki Ain) 1963 was in effect, under which life imprisonment meant a sentence of 20 years.
The Janakpur High Court’s Birgunj bench had delivered a verdict stating that the incident never occurred. Feeling that the verdict disregarded his suffering, Gaurishankar Ram has appealed for justice again through a public program. During a press conference on July 6, Gaurishankar revealed the permanent scars left by the bomb explosion, stating that the court’s verdict has only deepened his pain.
The bench of Justices Dr. Khusi Prasad Tharu and Arjun Maharjan overturned the district court’s verdict on May 28, 2025, acquitting the accused in the case. This decision has caused further distress to Gaurishankar Ram, a direct victim of the incident.
At a press conference, Gaurishankar expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that the verdict should have been based on a thorough examination of the case files. He emphasized that the accused received an incorrect judgment. According to him, he and others are living witnesses who still bear the scars of the incident. He questioned how the court could claim that no bomb explosion had occurred, given the visible marks on his body and his survival.
On the evening of April 9, 2008, at around 6:30 PM, a bomb exploded at a residence in Rajapur, Rautahat, a day before the Constituent Assembly election scheduled for April 10, 2008. The blast killed two people and injured more than twenty others. Among the injured were Trilok Pratap Singh and Oshi Akhtar. The accused, Alam, was charged with murdering the injured by burning them alive in a brick kiln. During the Constituent Assembly election, bombs were being planted at various locations to intimidate others, seize polling booths, and exert influence. While workers were making bombs at the residence, an explosion occurred.
Speaking to INSEC staff, Gaurishankar Ram said, “I had gone to the house to collect my wages for laboring at the ‘Raja’ brick kiln operated by Alam. The wages were usually settled there. When I arrived that day, more than 100 people had gathered. While waiting to receive my wages, an explosion occurred inside the house. My body caught fire, and I jumped into a water-filled pit used for brick-making to extinguish the flames.
After Gaurishankar Ram collapsed unconscious in a field while injured, the locals helped rescue him, and his relatives took him to a hospital in Sitamarhi, India. Following nearly three months of treatment, he recovered and returned home. Although his life was saved, he suffered deep scars from the explosion across his body and lost the eardrums in both ears. Despite healing, parts of his wounds were covered by skin grafts, causing severe burning sensations during hot weather. Gaurishankar’s relatives, Naresh and Munish, who had accompanied him to collect wages, were also injured in the same explosion. After receiving treatment and recovery, they remain in India for work.
Gaurishankar further shared that Safi Mohammad from Sarlahi, who was also injured in the incident, later changed his statement and sided with Alam. Twelve years after the explosion, when an investigation into Alam began on the orders of the Supreme Court, police located Gaurishankar in Sitamarhi, India. His body still bore scars from the blast. In his statement to the police, he confirmed being at the scene on the day of the incident and described hearing a loud explosion. A medical report by Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital also confirmed that Gaurishankar had been injured in the blast.
The Rautahat District Court considered Gaurishankar’s statement and medical report as key evidence. The court also issued an order to provide him security, citing threats to his safety. The bench of Judge Matrikaprasad Acharya established that Gaurishankar had indeed been injured in the explosion and had undergone treatment for those injuries. Organizations including INSEC conducted on-site investigations into the incident and made their reports public. The Rautahat District Court, in its verdict, also referenced these investigation reports.