Issuing a press release about a court of inquiry that gave clean chit to armymen who shot dead the three villagers of Hariharpur in Surkhet district inside Bardiya National Park on March 10, the army accused the dead of carrying weapons. This contradicts a version of local army commander who had admitted that the soldiers had erred in shooting the women thinking them to be poachers. [break]
The Court of Inquiry of the Nepal Army has given clean chit to its personnel involved in the Bardiya National Park shootout incident. It also labeled the women killed in the incident as ´poachers´.
Three Dalit women -- Devisara BK, 35, Amrita BK, 32 and the 12-year-old Chandrakala BK -- were shot dead by the army personnel deployed for the park security on March 10 at Baspani area of the park when the three along with other villagers had entered the park to collect the bark of Kaulo tree.
Claiming that they were in possession of bullets, pesticides, explosives and weapons like homemade guns and khukuris, the NA has said that they were neither locals nor did they enter the park area to collect the bark as reported by the media soon after the incident.
This is in contrast to the version of the incident by Krishna Bahadur BK who lost his wife Devisara, sister-in-law Amrita and daughter Chandrakala who has said the soldiers fired indiscriminately. Krishna Bahadur was arrested the same night by the soldiers and handed over to park authorities. He had also said that they had gone into the forest to collect the bark of Kaulo tree.
The inquiry report of the army also is in sharp contrast to reports that quoted the locals as saying that the two women and the minor were raped before being shot dead in cold blood.
The army´s Court of Inquiry concluded that the incident was a result of “self-defense” by the army men. The locals had also alleged that the soldiers had raped the minor and the two women.
The locals said the three were killed due to negligence of the army personnel. Another news report had also quoted commander of Jwala Dal Battalion, Prakash Deuja, as saying that army had made a mistake in opening fire on the women. He had admitted that the women were not members of a poachers´ gang which was being followed by the army that day.
A statement issued by the NA´s Directorate of Public Relations on Monday stated that army reached the spot after it received information that 17 poachers had entered the park premises.
It further said the people had lit up fire and despite warnings from the security guards ordering them not to run, they opened fired on the army personnel. It claimed that the army shot at them in retaliation.
The statement also refuted all allegations of rape of the three women. It quoted the Court of Inquiry as saying that the post-mortem reports found no evidence of sexual abuse. The inquiry stated that while two women died on the spot, the other passed away while getting preliminary treatment. Army had arrested one Krishna BK from the spot.
The statement also said the NA is willing to extend all support to the high-level commission formed by the government to probe into the incident.
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