Maoists threw Pun, 67, out of the village on the charge of spying on them immediately after slitting the throat of his son. [break]
His son Lal Bahadur was Nepali Congress president of Pajaru VDC. Karbir had moved to Khalanga with his wife, and daughter-in-law and two grandsons that his deceased son left behind.
His daughter-in-law re-married a couple of years later while his wife has also died since, leaving him with two grandsons to attend to in his autumn years. The Puns -- who had 50 ropani of land, three houses, three buffaloes, 17 cows and 60 goats in Pajaru, are now facing difficulty to even make ends meet in Khalanga.
“We had also left back all the kitchen utensils, food grain and clothes while leaving the village in a hurry,” Karbir rued.
He had set up his tent at a public place in Ranagaun of Khalanga-1 and now doesn’t have money to even replace the torn canvas that was donated by Nepal Red Cross Society around eight years ago. He had received Rs 100,000 in compensation from the government two years ago but the sum is too little to significantly change his fortunes.
The older grandson is currently studying in the 12th grade while the younger one is in the seventh. “I am now facing difficulty to even provide for the grandsons’ education,” he added.
He is nearing 70 years but he still has to cook and care for his grandsons. He can’t even work properly due to old age and his ordeal is getting worse by the day. “The plight of poor victims like us will never change no matter who heads the government,” he stated.
He doesn’t seek any favor from the government. He would be happy if his captured property is returned but he sees little chance of that happening anytime soon as the Maoists have been using the property.
Maoist in-charge of Jajarkot district claimed that Pun’s property was not captured by the party and instead being used by poor citizens. Over two dozen families like Pun’s are currently living in Khalanga with their property back in villages under Maoist control.
Chief District Officer Sukadev Lamsal revealed that around 450 people were killed in the district during the Maoist insurgency and 390 of them by the government.
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