A highly placed government source told myrepublica.com that the government has directed Chitwan police to probe into the death of Goma Rana though the Maoists and UNMIN have not yet informed the police and the government about the death. [break]
"She was found unconscious in the bathroom on Wednesday and was declared brought dead at Bharatpur Hospital," Janak Bista, spokesperson for the cantonments, said.
Bista said Rana was in her early twenties and was married. Her husband is also PLA member and is staying in the same cantonments.
"We cannot say whether it was a suicide until the postmortem report confirms so," Bista said over telephone.
Chief of the hospital Narendra Kumar Singh refused to comment, saying he has no knowledge of the death in question.
According to Bista, Goma had gone to bathe at 10 am on Wednesday and was found in "conscious" condition at 12 pm. She was then rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival.
This is the 24th death in the cantonments since the former rebels were kept in the UN-monitored camps in December 2007 as part of the peace process.
According to information given to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction by the UNMIN, 23 combatants have "died" in the cantonments, including seven suicide cases, so far. The cases became known to the government only in February.
Chitwan SP Dhiru Basnet said the police have begun investigation into the case. "We have documented the death and I cannot say any more than this at present," said Basnet.
(Editor´s note: The mistake in the headline has been corrected.)
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