Nepali man dies during indefinite fast for justice

Nanda Prasad Adhikari has died while staging a "fast-unto-death" the past 11 months for pressing for his demand that his son's killer during the country's insurgency era be brought to justice.

Government-run Bir Hospital's director Swyam Prakash Pandit said that Adhikari died at 5 p.m. Monday, Xinhua reported.

Adhikari's son Krishna Prasad Adhikari, then 18 years old, was allegedly killed by Maoists during the 10-year long insurgency. But Maoist parties say they did not kill Krishna Prasad.

The government and human rights activists had urged Nanda to end the fast, but Nanda refused, saying the government has not taken action against the people involved in the killing of his son.

The government reopened the case but so far no action has been taken.

Nepal's government is under criticism for being unresponsive to the demands of insurgency-era cases. There is a sharp division in Nepal over the handling of such cases.

The condition of Ganga Maya Adhikari, Nanda's spouse, who was also fasting remains critical. Nanda and his wife were surviving on intravenous nutrients.

The couple had vowed to go on with their indefinite hunger strike until the killers of their son were punished.