Gangamaya Adhikari's appeal for truth and justice for her son

Kathmandu, 7 June (2021) - Gangamaya Adhikari, whose son Krishna Prasad Adhikari was slain by Maoists 17 years ago on 7 June, has written a heartrending appeal to all concerned for the truth and justice of her son.

Following is the full text of the appeal:

Dear All,

I am writing to tell you about what I feel when (24 Jestha) June comes along, what I have been going through for the last 17 years and experienced seeking justice.  Once again, I am calling for your continuous support, not to let the justice system in the country collapse because an innocent child is killed and their parents need to die while seeking justice.

As many of you know, my 17-year-old son was abducted and tortured to death on 6 June 2004 (Jestha 24, 2061), by the then rebel group, the Nepal Communist Party-Maoist in Chitwan district of Nepal. Since then, I have been vehemently seeking truth and justice.

For parents, nothing could be more torturous than to know that their beloved son was killed brutally. And those who are supposed to be responsible and helping you to investigate, get to the truth, punish those responsible are protecting criminals and you cannot do anything but lose your family, home, dreams, future and hang in pain and suffering until you die.

16 years ago, my husband Nanda Prasad Adhikari and I were forced to leave our home in Phujel village, Gorkha district. We had hope that there were institutions, organizations, systems and the Government, who will act when we reach out to them and tell them our painful story. Unfortunately, when I told our story, all felt sorry but could not do anything because those who killed my son were the cadre of the Maoist party in power.

For 17 years, I have been seeking a response to these simple questions: Are the cadres of the Maoist party above the law? Is this what the constitution says? Is this what Nepal’s law says? Is this what human rights organizations support? Is this what the UN and international community support?

I was told a couple of times that an investigation was done, the case was filed against those responsible. Unfortunately, now I learn that everyone was acquitted by the Court on the basis that they were not involved in the case. Now my simple question is - who then were involved in my son’s abduction, torture and murder? I need to know the truth. I need to see re-investigation of this case with the objective of finding the truth and bringing perpetrators to justice, not covering up the case and let them escape justice.

I am not seeking revenge. I am not asking to abduct those who abducted my son, torture them the way they tortured him, kill them the way they killed him, and let them suffer the way we suffer. What I am seeking is justice, the truth about who did it and action against them according to the law.

As no state institution listened to us and cared about our pain, having no options along with my husband I started a hunger strike as a part of Satyagraha on 5 February 2012, demanding an investigation on my son’s killing. My husband passed away on 22 September 2014 at his 334th day of hunger strike, with no progress in the investigation. I lost another person whom I loved.  I cannot explain the pain and suffering I endured. However, I continue to have hope that I should be getting truth and justice before I die. Thus, my resilience to seek justice has not shaken a bit. I feel more determined and passionate about digging out the truth and getting justice despite all odds, I continued my struggle.  

I am extremely grateful to the lawyers, organizations and well-wishers who showed courage to stand with me, have taken up my fight for justice as their own and encouraged and supported me in every possible way. I am appealing once again to my lawyers and well-wishers to speak out and provide necessary legal support for the reinvestigation of my son’s murder, with a team of independent and competent experts. Furthermore, I would like to call on international human rights organizations and the UN to facilitate this re-investigation of the case and bring all perpetrators to justice.

I appeal to all concerned individuals and organizations, please feel the pain of those parents whose children were killed but they could not even stand for justice. With your support and help, I will continue fighting against all odds, till those who killed my son are brought to justice. Only then the souls of my son and my husband will rest in peace.

Thank you all.

Ganga Maya Adhikari

Bir Hospital, Kathmandu

 24 Jestha 2078 (7 June, 2021)