Congress President Gagan Thapa, in the inaugural session of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general convention on Sunday, brought up an incident that happened in Bharatpur in 2018. The same incident that Thapa recalled is currently being discussed on social media. In particular, the historical incident he mentioned about the 'Bharatpur occupation incident' of 2018 has been discussed on social media by journalists and political analysts.

Congress President Thapa said during his address, 'Please do not say that nothing has happened in 35 years. Please do not undermine the stories of the 30-year struggle of the Panchayat. The place where you are standing, the bodies of about 50 people were buried in 2018.'

Reminding that Chitwan is historically a land of revolution, Thapa said, 'The Panchayat government has cut and buried it, and you are standing under it. Many friends are also buried in the place where you will hold the program tomorrow. All of them had raised the four-star flag of the Nepali Congress. They had said Jai Nepal. But not for themselves. Not for their families. Their heads were cut and torn, but what they said was for you, for me, for democracy. Today you have been allowed to hoist the blue flag. Look at the ground while hoisting the flag, look at the ground in Chitwan too, there is a little red. That red is the red worn by many of the three martyrs.'

What is the Bharatpur occupation incident?

Journalist Sitaram Baral said in 2017 after the 'coup' of the then King Mahendra Jagat Prakash Jung Shah has mentioned the incident of leading the capture of Chitwan by engaging in armed struggle. 'Chitwan was captured under his leadership. However, the government army that went from Kathmandu arrested him through deception. Even though other warriors were killed, he was not killed immediately because he was related to King Mahendra, and was brought to Narayanhiti. King Mahendra asked him to surrender. However, Jagat Prakash did not surrender. He was then returned to Chitwan and his limbs were gradually cut off, his body without limbs was thrown into a pit and beheaded. Then, his head was brought to the palace as proof of the murder,' Baral wrote on Facebook. In this context, former Chitwan Congress district president Topman Singh Gurung said that he was a letter carrier on behalf of the Liberation Army at that time. Born in Tanahun in 2002, Topman Singh joined the revolution against the Panchayat regime at a young age. The Nepali Congress fought against the then Panchayat regime and set the goal of establishing democracy in the country. Topman Singh told Kantipur, recalling the incident at that time, 'In the process of capturing Bharatpur, Laldhwaj Gurung, Suryabhakta Adhikari, Iman Singh Gurung, Hari Prasad Gurung and other friends had come under the leadership of Pahalman Singh Rai. The then security chief was Thanedar Bharat Gurung. 'We are coming to capture Bharatpur at 12 midnight on Magh 26. Suryabhakta Adhikari and Laldhwaj Gurung gave me the letter saying that you had to surrender. I took that letter and handed it over to Thanedar Gurung.'

Topman Singh says that he took the letter to Thanedar Gurung on Magh 24, 2018. Then Thanedar Gurung replied to the letter and said: Yes, I will surrender. Bharat Gurung was a member of the Mukti Sena of the 2007 struggle. Later, he joined the Nepal Police through the Raksha Dal. On Magh 26, at exactly 12 o'clock in the night, the Mukti Sena reached Bharatpur for capture.

Topman Singh says, 'Thanedar Gurung surrendered. He left and Chitwan was captured for 48 hours. The Mukti Sena moved around for 48 hours. After 48 hours, the Imperial Army recaptured it. After that, Jagat Prasad Jung Shah, Buddha Singh Rana and Hari Prasad Gurung and many of their friends were killed by the royal army and buried near the Nagarvan forest under Pulchowk. At that time, many other friends were also killed. Roughly 80/90 people were killed and buried there.' According to Topman Singh, the royal army had sent the Mukti Sena led by Lal Dhwaj Gurung to the mountains to capture Gorkha, Lamjung and Tanahun against that atrocity. But Lal Dhwaj and the Surya Bhaktas were arrested in Manpang of Bhimad, Tanahun.

Chitwan-based journalist Basanta Parajuli, who wrote the novel 'Bakhan' based on the Bharatpur incident and the revolutionary story of the Congress, has written in Gorkhapatra

quoting Professor Ishwori Raj Laudari, 'During the occupation of Bharatpur, the Gaindagasti camp, the Rapti Dun Project office, and the Jhuwani police station were all captured. The Congress Mukti Sena captured 180 pieces of horse-drawn weapons from the Bharatpur police station and 27 horse-drawn guns from the Gaindagasti camp.'

Parajuli has written about the incident of the royal army surrounding the Mukti Sena while it was celebrating its victory in a field near the Deuti Khola in Bharatpur. Describing the cruelty of the royal army, he writes, 'The army captured 11 members of the Mukti Sena, tied them with a single rope, and dragged them to Chaubiskothi.' Three people were shot and killed there. The others were dragged from there and taken to the Tikauli forest. The remaining seven were tortured and killed by the People's Liberation Army, according to historians.'

There are different accounts of how many people died in the Bharatpur occupation incident. Journalist Parajuli has mentioned that 85 people died, referring to Hemraj Adhikari's book 'Today's Nepal'. He has written, 'Today's Nepal' says that the people killed in the guesthouse that day had 85 pairs of shoes. They were buried alive in a huge pit dug behind the hospital (Bharatpur). At that time, people who were captured from various places were buried alive in pits and mass murdered.' In an article published in Himal Khabar on Chaitra 24, 2077, Shri Bhakta Khanal has narrated the

of the Bharatpur occupation incident. Khanal has mentioned in the book that the army captured and killed more than 34 people on charges of being involved in the Bharatpur incident. His article also includes a list of those killed in the incident. In the article based on conversations with senior Congress leaders and research, Shri Bhakta writes, 'The royal army tied 11 people including Jagat Prakash Jung, Buddha Singh, Hari Prasad, Harinath, Dhan Bahadur, Sant Singh, Shamsher Bahadur with ropes and took them towards the Tikauli forest. On 29 Magh, the royal army brutally killed all the others except Jagat Prakash Jung. Jagat Prakash Jung belonged to Shah Rajkhalak. Therefore, a message was sent to the court about what to do with him. He was killed with the permission of King Mahendra and the instructions of Home Minister Bishwabandhu Thapa.'

Former district president of the Nepali Congress, Topman Singh Gurung, says that he went into exile after the incident. After the incident of Magh 26, he was on his way to the guesthouse on the 28th when he saw a shootout between the Royal Army and the Liberation Army. 'A warrant was also issued to me after the Bharatpur incident. I went to India and stayed for 8 years. During my exile, I was doing party work,' he said. In between, he came to Chitwan in 2021 BS to plant the flag and distribute propaganda. Bhoj Bikram Rai was the District Education Officer. He met him. Rai urged him to be careful as the government could catch him. 'When he saw me, he said, "Oh! You will catch me." He took me to the guesthouse and said, "You will catch me." Chitwan Guest House was his place of residence,' said Topman Singh. When he returned three years after the incident, he said he saw blood stains on the guest house's rooms and veranda. Recalling the scene at that time, he said, 'Looking there, the rooms where the liberation army commanders were shot were covered in spider webs. And the walls were covered in blood stains. I saw blood stains on the veranda.'