Hours after the former Nepali Congress (NC) leader´s dead body was found, his supporters took to the streets, protesting police´s inaction. Haque´s supporters blocked the Kalyanpur-Bishanpar section of the east-west highway throughout the day by felling roadside trees and erecting tents on the road for staging sit-ins. [break]
Haque´s supporters as well as other local people also staged demonstrations in several places of Saptari and Siraha districts. They flayed the police for remaining “unaware of the crime” even as Haque was bludgeoned to death just 200 meters from the Area Police Office of Kalyanpur.
Haque, a resident of Kalyanpur VDC-2 in Saptari district, had attended the wedding of one of his neighbors Rameshwor Sah on Monday evening. As the family members of the groom did not turn up on time, Haque left the ceremony promising to return a little bit later.
According to Ayub Rain, one of Haque´s closest friends, Haque did not return. As everyone was busy in the ceremony, no one really bothered to know where Haque had been.
Early Tuesday morning, Haque was found murdered in a room on the second floor of a building that was used as the office of a now-closed petrol pump right off the highway. The pump, owned by Haque, was shut down nearly five months ago. He had been spending nights at the pump since last week due to some disputes in his family.
Police say Haque was killed by slicing his throat with a sharp knife. No one in connection to Haque´s murder has been arrested so far.
In the afternoon, a sniffer dog of police recovered a pair of sandals and a shirt from a river about 300 meters from the petrol pump. According to SP Sanjaya Singh Basnet, who is now investigating the murder, the shirt and sandals indicate that Haque had struggled hard before being killed.
SP Basnet says police´s preliminary investigation has revealed that Haque´s killers forcibly took him under their control and murdered him after taking him to his own room. “As there is no evidence we are starting our investigation from the scratch,” said SP Basnet.
According to him, a team of Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police is also arriving in Saptari to investigate Haque´s murder. Also, the government formed a committee led by Additional Inspector General Dinkar Shamsher Rana on Tuesday to probe Haque´s murder. The three-member probe committee has been instructed to come up with its findings in one week´s time.
The brutal murder of Haque, a popular figure especially in the Muslim and minority communities of Saptari district, has enraged the locals.
On Tuesday morning, when Saptari´s Chief District Officer (CDO) Hari Krishna Poudel and district police Chief SP Basnet visited the crime spot, Haque´s supporters tried to chase them away by hurling bricks and stones. Police had to use force to clear the way for CDO Poudel, SP Basnet and other security officials.
Haque´s family and supporters refused to receive his dead body demanding that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) officially address the incident and assuage the Muslim community´s fears.
Muslim leaders linked Haque´s murder with a series of murders involving public figures belonging to Nepal´s Muslim community. "A Muslim public figure has been killed yet again due to the government´s apathy,” said Mohammad Najimuddi, Vice President of Muslim Association of Nepal. "Those who champion the cause of Muslim people have always met such tragedies. Haque´s murder is also a politically motivated.”
Kalam Kha, Mithila State Committee Coordinator of National Muslim Liberation Front, close to the UCPN (Maoist), said, "In the wake of a series of murders of Muslim leaders, all Muslim people are forced to fear for their lives."
Haque, 55, had won the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in 2008 as an independent candidate. Until then, he was active in the Nepali Congress (NC). He had decided to contest the elections independently after being left out by NC.
Haque had become the ward committee chairman of Kalyanpur VDC-2 by contesting the last elections of local bodies from NC. As he was very popular in Kalyanpur, he had won the CA polls by a wide margin even without the backing of NC.
"He was popular because he was not involved only in politics but also social works," said former lawmaker Bishwendra Paswan. Of late, Haque and Paswan were members of an alliance of 33 fringe parties. Recently, he had formed National Muslim Struggle Alliance, of which he was the coordinator.
Haque owned two brick factories in Sunsari and Saptari districts each and a petrol pump in Saptari. However, he had closed one of his brick factories and the petrol pump due to poor health, said his family members. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons.
All major political parties have denounced Haque´s murder. Issuing separate press statements, the UCPN (Maoist) and NC have urged the government to bring those involved in his murder to book.
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