The Supreme Court has made public the full text of its verdict in a case filed by the victim demanding an investigation into the Gaur incident in Rautahat. The Supreme Court has ordered the police to proceed with an investigation into those involved in the much-publicized Gaur massacre of 18 years ago.

The full text of the verdict passed on 2 Bhadra 2082 was made public by the Supreme Court this week . A bench of Justices  Til Prasad Shrestha and Nityanand Pandey had ruled to investigate the horrific massacre that took place in Rautahat 18 years ago . After the Supreme Court also made its full text public, the way for the police to reopen the file has now been legally opened. 

Gaur massacre: Human Rights Commission report left unsettled

27 people were killed when Maoists violently attacked a meeting at a rice mill in Gaur by cadres of the then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum. However, the investigation report into this incident, which has been shrouded in political intrigue, could not be brought out and the investigation could not be carried out .

‘After the complaint application is registered, it is the legal duty of the Police Office to proceed with the investigation and investigation as per the law,’ the full text of the judgment states, ‘In the complaint application filed by the writ petitioner Tribhuvan Sah, an order is issued in the name of the opposing District Police Office Rautahat and other opposing parties to proceed with the investigation and investigation immediately and reach a proper conclusion as to who among those involved in the incident should be prosecuted or not.’

Upendra Yadav says – ‘I have not been able to understand three things in the context of the Gaur incident’

The Supreme Court has issued an order to investigate the accused. Along with this, the investigation will be carried out against 130 people including the then Forum (currently JSP Nepal) President Upendra Yadav.

Rupsagar Upadhyay, Rupaiya Khatun, Vikram Patel and the injured Tribhuvan Sah had reached the Supreme Court on behalf of the deceased family, saying that the investigation into the incident was not conducted due to the influence of power and influence. A joint bench of Justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Nityanand Pandey has ordered an immediate investigation. Now, the investigation against them will proceed as per the complaint filed by the victim and the report of the National Human Rights Commission.  After hearing the writ petition filed to bring those involved in the Gaur murder case under the purview of investigation and action, the Supreme Court had ruled on 2 Bhadra, 2082 that the victim's writ would be issued. 

What is the full text of the verdict?

Explaining in detail about the investigation in case number 20 of the verdict, the Supreme Court has raised the question of why no investigation has been carried out so far.

'Given the nature of the issue raised in the writ petition, it is found that although a complaint was filed on 2063/12/7 regarding the crime that occurred, the question has been raised that no investigation has been carried out so far in that complaint.' If the complaint received regarding an offense is misleading, false or fictitious and does not require investigation or is found to be pointless, it is one thing to report it to the concerned government attorney's office and, with the permission of the government attorney's office, keep it in custody as provided in Section 11 (1) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 2074 BS,' the full text states, 'but it is not permissible to keep it in such a passive manner without even understanding the person or the complainant after registering the complaint as a notice of offense. The opposing offices also do not seem to have stated that the complaint raised in the present writ petition has been kept in custody. ’

Upendra Yadav says – ‘I have not been able to understand three things regarding the Gaur incident’

The full text of the judgment states that Section 31 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 2074 BS, gives the concerned government law office the right to decide not to prosecute a person if there is insufficient evidence to prosecute him. The Supreme Court has thus ordered that if a complaint is filed regarding an offense and the investigation is not found to have occurred, or if there is insufficient evidence to prosecute an accused even if there is, the investigation report on the same should be sent.

‘The Police Office does not have the right to refuse to register a complaint received as a crime information or to take no action on such a complaint after it is registered,’ the full text says, ‘There is a legal provision that the investigation should be initiated as soon as possible after the crime information is received.’

The full text of the Supreme Court states that the failure to proceed with the investigation even after registering the complaint is seen as contrary to the legal duty assigned to the Police Office by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 2074.

What was the Gaur incident?

On 7 Chaitra 2063, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum organized a public meeting at Rice Mills Chaur in Gaur. The Madhesi Rashtriya Mukti Morcha, which is close to the Maoists, also held a program at the same venue. Both sides had set up a stage at a distance of 100 meters for the program. The Forum had set up a stage in the south corner of the field and the Maoists had set up a stage in the north corner the previous day.

Before the program, locals had anticipated a clash as both parties had started campaigning. Although the local administration and police had requested to stop the program at the same venue, both parties had not agreed. The Maoists were in favor of not allowing the Forum to hold the meeting, while the Forum was adamant that it would hold the meeting.

On the 7th, the Forum's procession reached the program venue after going around the city at 11 am. The Maoists also started the rally from the city at 1:45 pm. Both parties had brought cadres from villages for the program. The Forum had invited leader Upendra Yadav as the chief guest. The Maoists' program was led by the then district in-charge Prabhu Sah. But both leaders did not come to the stage.

While the Maoists were going around the city, the Forum cadres started vandalizing and setting fire to the stage built for the meeting. At that moment, the Maoists' YCL group entered the ground. Seeing their stage destroyed, they also attacked the Forum cadres in an aggressive manner, which created a situation of double clashes.

There was also baton and gunfire from both sides. Only 10 policemen were deployed at the meeting under the command of the SAI. After the shooting started, the situation went beyond the control of the police. The ground instantly became a battlefield. As the Maoist cadres were fleeing, the Forum cadres who were waiting for the gouda attacked them with wooden scythes (batta). The bodies of those who lost their lives in the attack were thrown into the drain.

The Nepal Red Cross and police teams had retrieved most of the bodies from the drain. The Forum cadres had also tried to attack the injured who were immediately brought to Gaur Hospital. The clash continued till late evening and the district police had even imposed a curfew. 27 Maoist cadres, including 5 women, were killed in the incident and 42 people were injured.

The then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum President Yadav has been claiming that the clash occurred when locals retaliated against the Maoists in the Gaur incident. Prabhu Sah, who led the assembly at that time from the Maoists (now the president of the Aam Janata Party), has been demanding that a case be filed after investigating the murder as it was a deliberate act.

Judge-led investigation committee formed, but report kept secret

After the demand for an impartial investigation into the Gaur massacre was raised, the government formed a high-level judicial investigation team on 9 Chaitra 2063 under the coordination of the then Judge of the Appellate Court (now the High Court), Patan. The team included the then Judge of the District Court, Jumla, Anant Dumre, Advocate Tika Bahadur Hamal, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police Ramesh Chand, and the then Acting Chief of the National Vigilance Center, Ram Sarbar Dobe. Although the committee prepared a report, it was kept secret without making it public.

Similarly, on 22 Paush 2079, the National Human Rights Commission had investigated the Gaur incident and made it public. The commission had deemed the incident a heinous crime and recommended action against the culprits and compensation for the victim's family. The commission's meeting held on 19 Paush 2079 concluded that the incident was planned, intentional and brutal.

The Human Rights Commission had held that the bitter and vindictive behavior of the then CPN-Maoist's sister organizations, the Madhesi Mukti Morcha and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, was responsible for the incident. 'It was seen that the leadership levels of both parties were not fully serious about such behavior,' the commission's report said.

The commission also mentioned in the report that the leadership of both parties, including the then President of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Yadav and forum workers from Rautahat, and the then General Secretary of the Maoist sister organization, the Madhesi Mukti Morcha, Prabhu Sah, and former Chief of the People's Government, Bindeshwor Yadav, failed to take any initiative to prevent the incident.