Nepal urged to act speedily on Terai abuses

Nepal should ensure that investigations into all deaths and injuries during the protests in the southern Terai region are fast and transparent, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

The US-based rights body said it had learned that police were reportedly refusing to register First Information Reports (FIRs) filed on behalf of the victims.

"Despite endless promises of reform, impunity remains the norm in Nepal," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a letter to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

"Accountability for any abuses by both protesters and police are important, and unfortunately at the moment it looks as if alleged abuses by the police will simply be forgotten."

Following passage of a controversial new constitution in September 2015, political parties and their supporters in the southern Terai plains began a series of protests which led to an effective blockade of imports along Nepal's southern border with India.

Security forces often clashed with the protesters over months of violence, leading to deaths, abuses and injuries on both sides.

--IANS

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