Maina Sunuwar, a 15-year-old from Kavre, was killed due to torture by the Nepali Army during the armed conflict. The Nepali Army has expressed disappointment over a letter written by Sunuwar’s mother, Devi Sunuwar, demanding justice, which was sent to the United Nations.
The Nepali Army’s legal department, has also expressed disappointment over Devi Sunuwar’s letter sent to Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, urging him to pressure the Nepali Army to take responsibility for the murder of Maina Sunuwar.
What’s the case?
A day before Army Day, during a press conference organised at Jangi Adda, Brigadier General Om Bahadur Bhatta of the Nepali Army’s Legal Department said that the way Sunuwar’s family is handling the case is difficult to understand.
“The way the verdict was delivered in the district court and the way they are exerting pressure nationally and internationally is difficult to understand,” said Bhatta. “Back then, under the Army Act 2016, the army had the authority to handle this case, and the verdict was made accordingly.”
In February 2004, Maina Sunuwar, from the then Kharelthok Village Development Committee-6, was taken into custody by the army under the command of Major Niranjan Basnet from her home. She was later brutally tortured and killed by the army.
Brigadier General Bhatta mentioned at the press conference that the incident would be resolved through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
“At present, there is a TRC and it has its act. If a commission will be formed, there might be something,” Bhatta said.
As the case continues at the Supreme Court, Bhatta refrained from commenting further on the matter.
In 2005, the Military Court sentenced three military officers to six months of imprisonment and a one-year promotion suspension for violating human rights and humanitarian law in the Maina Sunuwar case.
On March 14, 2005, a court of inquiry, chaired by Major General Mohan Basnet, submitted a report stating that Sunuwar died due to extreme torture in an immature and careless manner, without any intention to kill her, even though alternatives were available. The report recommended action against the culprits in accordance with the Army Act.
The military court also recommended that the officers pay Rs 250,000 as compensation, in addition to the prison sentence. However, on December 6, 2005, Devi Sunuwar, unsatisfied with the army’s decision, filed a complaint against the four individuals at the District Police Office in Kavre.
Since the case was filed against military officers, the police did not accept the complaint. Devi Sunuwar later submitted an application to the Supreme Court. In September 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the police to accept the complaint and conduct an investigation.
Although the court ordered the arrest of the accused, legal proceedings did not advance. In 2013, a bench led by Judge Ishwor Raj Acharya decided to adjourn the case. However, the case was later refiled in court, and an order was issued to proceed with legal action.
On April 15, 2016, the District Court of Kavre sentenced three army officers to life imprisonment for extrajudicial killings.
This was the first case in which the court found the army guilty of a wartime crime. The High Court also heard the matter and upheld the district court’s order. However, the Nepali Army filed a petition against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
“The person who is the defendant should file a petition, but the Nepali Army itself has gone to the court demanding the cancellation of the High Court and District Court orders,” said Pushpa Paudel, an advocate associated with the Advocacy Forum. “It appears that the TRC does not influence the case currently under court consideration; therefore, as the army stated, it does not fall under the TRC’s jurisdiction.”
Sunuwar’s family sources claim that during the court proceedings, the army offered a reconciliation.
“Unofficially, proposals were made by Jangi Adda to build a statue of Sunuwar,” says a family source. “But Maina’s mother, Devi, did not agree and responded that she wanted justice.”
Director General of the War Operations Department of the Nepali Army, Prem Dhwaj Adhikari, states that no such proposal has been formally made on behalf of Jangi Adda.
“Instead, I heard that there was a discussion about building a monument if a solution was reached through the municipality,” he says. “As I understand, it was the initiative of the mayor of Panchkhal in Kavre to propose the monument.”
What report says?
According to the report by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), a human rights organization, military officers had once reached Devi Sunuwar’s house to take her into custody. However, when they did not find Devi, they arrested her daughter, Maina Sunuwar, and took her to the barracks.
The report states that on February 13, 2004, the army took 17-year-old Rina Rasaili and Subhadra Chaulagai from their home in Pokharichauri VDC-4 and shot them. Maina Sunuwar’s mother, Devi, was an eyewitness to this incident. When the team searching for Devi could not find her at home, they took her daughter, subjected her to extreme torture at the Birendra Peace Operations Training Centre in Panchkhal, and accused both Sunuwar and her mother of being involved in terrorist activities.
According to the report by the human rights organization Advocacy Forum, the army told Sunuwar’s father, Purna, that if he wanted to bring Maina back, he should come to the Panchkhal barracks with his wife.
Though Sunuwar was taken from her home, the army continued to deny her arrest until April 2004. Under intense pressure, the army eventually admitted to her death. Following international pressure, her skeleton was found inside the Birendra Peace Operations Training Centre two years and eight months later.
Amid the pressure, the army formed a Court of Inquiry Board to investigate the case. The inquiry report revealed that Maina Sunuwar had been subjected to “waterboarding” and, when she still did not confess, Captain Sunil and Amit ordered soldier Shri Krishna Shrestha to apply electric shocks. When Shrestha connected wires from the geyser line and applied shocks to her feet and hands, Sunuwar died.
After about an hour and a half of torture, when no significant information could be obtained, the report states that Sunuwar was sent to an air shelter near the temple with the intention of continuing the interrogation. Blindfolded and with her hands tied behind her back, Sunuwar began vomiting and foaming at the mouth, reaching a critical condition around 11 AM.
The report revealed that Colonel Babi Khatri instructed Captain Amit Pun to secretly bury Sunuwar’s body. Before burying her, a bullet was fired at Maina’s body to create the impression that she had attempted to escape from custody.
According to the inquiry report excerpt mentioned in the Advocacy Forum’s report, “After burying the body, the military officers conspired to cover up the entire incident by fabricating a story that Maina Sunuwar had died in an encounter.”
In line with Khatri’s instructions, Captain Basnet allegedly called the police from the Panchkhal Police Station and prepared a false report. On the same day, the army issued a press statement claiming that Maina had jumped out of a terrorist’s military vehicle near Hoksey Jungle and, after being warned, was killed when she did not return.
