The High Court has upheld the Rukum West District Court’s verdict against the accused in the Soti incident in the killing case. According to Prem Prakash Thapa, Spokesperson of the High Court Surkhet, the court affirmed the district court’s decision in connection with the killing of 21-year-old Nawaraj BK and five others who were killed on May 23, 2020. The killing was linked to an inter-caste relationship. Meanwhile, the High Court Surkhet has acquitted 23 individuals accused under charges related to caste-based discrimination and untouchability.
The life imprisonment verdict for 23 individuals has been upheld. All defendants have been acquitted of caste-based discrimination charges, while some decisions have been reversed. The full text of the verdict will take some time,” said High Court Surkhet Spokesperson Prem Prakash Thapa. The verdict was delivered by the bench of Justices Somkant Mainali and Matrika Prasad Bhandari on April 29 following the hearing. Dalit rights activists have stated that the case related to caste-based discrimination and untouchability is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
On December 5, 2023, the then District Judge of Rukum West, Khadka Bahadur KC, sentenced 24 individuals, including the Ward Chairperson Dambar Bahadur Malla, to life imprisonment. Similarly, Nawaraj’s girlfriend, her mother, and her brother were convicted of caste-based discrimination and sentenced to two years in prison. Eight individuals were acquitted. Against the district court’s verdict, Malla and others in Rukum West had filed 24 appeals, while Nawaraj BK’s father, Munlal Nepali, had submitted two appeal petitions. A hearing on the 26 appeal petitions filed on April 22 at the High Court Surkhet was conducted under the bench of Justices Somkant Mainali and Matrika Prasad Bhandari. The case had been kept under review. Following the court’s decision to acquit the accused of caste-based discrimination, relatives of the deceased and Dalit rights activists have been staging protests outside the High Court gate. Since April 28, they have been holding a sit-in at the High Court Surkhet, demanding legal action against those involved in the killings.
The court had scheduled the hearing for Monday, April 28. The arguments from both sides concluded on the evening of April 29. Nawaraj BK, 21, Tikaram Nepali,20, Ganesh Budha, 19, Lokendra Sunar, 18, Sanju BK, 20, and 17-year-old Govinda Shahi were killed in the incident. All their bodies were recovered from the Bheri River.