Gaijatra Mahotsav from Aug 21 Page 10 American nuclear power plants vulnerable to 9/11-style attacks Page 11 Wenger targets

two or three new Arsenal signings Page 15

Nepals No. 1 English Daily
www.thehimalayantimes.com
Printed simultaneously from Kathmandu and Itahari

Vol. XII No.268 Kathmandu, Saturday, August 17, 2013, Bhadra 1, 2070, Nepal Sambat 1133

The Himalayan
T I M E S

Weather: Generally cloudy o o Max: 28-30 C Min: 18-20 C Sunrise 05:35 Sunset 18:40

Capital 16 pages Rs 5

SHORT TAKES

Woman beaten to death for black magic

Ravi Dahal Birgunj, August 16
A woman was thrashed to death by the locals at Supauli VDC in Parsa on the charge of practising witchcraft last night. After a panchayat meeting of the village decided on Thursday morning to ostracise her, villagers took Jagan Chaudharys wife Parbati from Sadhitole at Supauli VDC out of her home and thrashed her to death. Jagan could do nothing, as he was pinned down by the villagers. The village meeting had decided to expel 45year-old Parbati from the village, accusing her of practising black magic to cast a spell on Jagadish Chaudharys daughter Pratima, who was sick. After the village meeting, Parbatis family was planning to leave the village at daybreak, but villagers had other plans. DSP Basudev Khatiwada said villagers even tried to cremate her body to remove evidence. After the police reached the incident site on Friday at 5 am, villagers told the police that a woman practising witchcraft had died and they would cremate her body. Inspector Shyam Krishna KC, who reached the incident site, said all the males had fled the village and no one was ready to speak on behalf of the victim. Police have arrested Pratimas mother Paspati Devi and daughters Sima Kumari and Renu Kumari for interrogation. Police have launched a manhunt to nab Jagadish Chaudhary, Pratima Kumari, Anil Raut, Bishram Chaudhary Tharu and Dhan Raj Tharu for their alleged involvement in the murder. Hu m a n rights activists have expressed concern about the incident. Advocate Birendra Yadav said, S u c h heinous crimes will continue unless harsh punishment is meted out to the perpetrators. Earlier on August 7, villagers had thrashed 45-year-old Saraswoti Devi of Chaurasiya in Bishrampur VDC and fed her human excreta on the charge of practising witchcraft. After the death of her husband, Saraswoti Devi was the lone bread winner in her family and used to work in a field. Countrys law states that no one can accuse anyone of witchcraft. If anyone does that, s/he will be sentenced to a jail term ranging from three months to two years or slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 or both.

Rainwater floods TIA baggage area

THT

A differently-abled person plodding through a waterlogged street in Maitidevi, Kathmandu, on Friday.

INTERNATIONAL

50 killed in Cairo
CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood protests plunged into violence across Egypt on Friday, with around 50 killed in Cairo alone on a Day of Rage called by Islamist followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi to denounce a police crackdown. A Reuters witness saw the bodies of 27 people, apparently hit by gunfire and birdshot, wrapped in white sheets in a mosque. At least 20 people died in clashes elsewhere in Egypt. (Related report on Page 11)

Ferry sinks,13 dead

MANILA: Thirteen people died and 690 were rescued after a ferry sank following a collision with a cargo vessel in the central Philippines. We don't know if there are still people missing, Rear Admiral Luis Tuason told local radio. Reuters

Law states that no one can accuse anyone of witchcraft. If anyone does that, s/he will be sentenced to a jail term of three months to two years

THT

Water seeping through the ceiling above the baggage area of the Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday. Himalayan News Service Kathmandu, August 16
Days after a pothole on the Tribhuvan International Airport runway halted flights, the airport baggage area got inundated today after a sudden heavy shower late in the afternoon. There was ankle deep water in the baggage area, said an official at the TIA. However, the water that trickled down from a leaking ceiling, was cleared within 1015 minutes and there was no problem regarding baggage management, the official added. Aviation experts blame the leakage on lack of maintenance and repair work in the TIA building that was constructed in early 1980s. According to the experts, it is only the runway, airport taxis and helipad that are considered vital parts of the airport but the airport building that is more than three decades old has never been renovated. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal received around Rs 2 billion as annual budget but most of it is being utilised in runway construction or other infrastructure development projects. It is never utilised for the maintenance of building, said an aviation expert in Kathmandu, Kumar Chalise.

Flights hit again

KATHMANDU: For the second time this week, flights were delayed, as cracks were observed on TIA runway. According to TIA officials, TIA functioning was hit for an hour and flights of China Eastern, Air India, Jet Airways and Buddha Airways were affected. Experts blame recurrence of runway cracks on low quality surface treatment and use of sub-standard materials during runway overlay. The process of overlaying the runway is faulty. TIA overlays the runway without considering minimum surface temperature required and the quality of asphalt used, said aviation expert Kumar Chalise. The runway should be overlaid when the surface temperature is around 20 degree Celsius but here the runway maintenance work was done at a sub zero temperature. TIA had started the runway construction work during December last year and had completed it earlier this year. HNS

FOREX
CURRENCY Indian Rs U.S. Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Japanese Yen Chinese Yuan UNIT BUYING (in Rs) SELLING (in Rs) 100 1 1 1 10 1 160.00 98.42 131.27 153.85 10.10 16.10 160.15 99.02 132.07 154.78 10.16 16.20

The foreign exchange rates are fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

Adhikari murder probe hits hurdle

Cops in dilemma after govt prosecutors vague reply
Surya Prakash Kandel Narayangarh, August 16
A vague reply by government prosecutors office, Chitwan, to a police query has put the police in a dilemma whether or not to proceed with the investigation into the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari, who was killed following his abduction by the Maoists during insurgency some nine years ago. Chitwan police chief Superintendent of Police Pradumna Karki had written to the office of the prosecutor seeking its advice in clear legal terms whether to proceed with the probe or not. But the offices reply to go ahead with investigation as per National Human Rights Commissions directive has only added to the confusion. On top of that the police are ignorant about the NHRC directive. After NHRC wrote a letter to the interim election government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi to initiate investigation into Adhikari murder, the government had directed the police headquarters to start the probe. Chitwan police then wrote to the government prosecutors office. Karki said his office had re-written to the prosecutors office to give clear and unequivocal advice on the investigation procedure. We are waiting for an unequivocal legal order to proceed with the investigation, Karki said. On the other hand, government attorney Ek Narayan Lamsal said NHRC directives implementation was obligatory. He said his office had suggested to proceed with the investigation as per the commissions directive. After the Nepal government decided not to proceed with cases related to conflict-era on 12 June 2006, Chitwan police had closed investigation into Adhikari murder. Sit-in and fast-untodeath by the deceaseds parents from Gorkha, Nanda Prasad and Ganga Maya, led NHRC to pressure the government to reinvestigate the case. Adhikari, 18, was murdered a day after his abduction on 6 June 2004 by the cadres of the then CPN (M) when he had gone to Chitwan to meet relatives. The deceaseds brother Nur Prasad had filed an FIR at the District Police Office, Chitwan, against Januka Paudel, Chhabilal Paudel, Bhimsen Paudel, Parsuram Paudel, Bishnu Tiwari, Kali Prasad Tiwari and Sita Adhikari on 7 June 2004. On 5 April 2009, NHRC recommended the government to investigate into the incident, give compensation to the victims family and provide environment for the displaced family to return home. But it was its directive last week that swung police into action.