The Hindu : Deportation of Nepal nationals stayed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 13, 2002

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Deportation of Nepal nationals stayed

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI July 12. The Delhi High Court today stayed the deportation of four Nepal nationals, Partha Chatri, Maheshwar Dahal, Aditi (all journalists) and a student, Moti Prasad. The four were picked up by the Special Branch of the Delhi police on Thursday along with nine Indians all of whom are associated with the Indo-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum.

The advocate, Nitya Ramakrishnan, said the High Court had received an undertaking from the Government that it will submit a report on Monday prior to which the four would not be deported. This morning, the Delhi police claimed to have deported the four for being part of a banned organisation.

In a joint statement the Left parties — the CPI(M), the CPI, the RSP and the Forward Bloc — described "the arbitrary high handedness of police'' as "the violation of the democratic and fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in our Constitution.''

"These people were meeting to discuss the restoration of the political process of dialogue in the troubled areas of Nepal. This certainly does not constitute any violation of any law.''

The arrested Indians included a doctor with the All-India Institute for Medical Sciences doctor, Anoop Sarayya, human rights activist, Gautam Navlakha, and journalist, Anand Swaroop Verma. They were at the theatre and gallery complex, Triveni Kala Sangam, at the time of being picked up, discussing the possibility of holding a public meeting on the situation in Nepal in early August. The veteran journalist and Rajya Sabha member, Kuldip Nayar, was present.

The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) said the Indo-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum promoted the resumption of dialogue between the Maoists and the Nepal Government.

In a statement issued today it said that the arrest of the four Nepalis and the interrogation of the Indians appeared to be the outcome of a deal between India and the Nepal Government "to prevent all attempts of public opinion forming which opposes monarchy or the extra-judicial killings by the Royal Nepalese Army.''

The PUDR said the deportation of Chatri, Dahal and Aditi Prasad might lead them to the same fate as other journalists in Nepal in the recent past. Journalist Krishna Sen died in police custody in June and over 100 Neplai journalists have ``disappeared''.

The Delhi Union of Journalists described the detention and arrest of the journalists as smacking of "vindictiveness and intimidation of dissenting journalists and other intellectuals.

The CPI(ML) said the activists had "assembled in defence of democracy in Nepal but their experience exposed the sorry state of democracy in India.''

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