News from Nepal January, 2011 (consolidated)

Casino Manager arrested for allowing Nepalese to gamble

Jan 1, 2010

The manager of Casino Tara at Hyatt Regency, Manoj Prasad Subedi, was arrested by Metropolitan Police on Thursday. He was arrested for evading tax amount to Rs. 20.6 million and illegally allowing Nepalese inside the casino to gamble.

After Police arrested the general manager of Casino Shangrila Harka Yera, they were searching for Manoj Prasad Subedi for quite some time.

National Shame

Jan 2, 2011 @ 03:47

UN deadline of Jan 10, 2011 to provide Armed Personnel Carriers (APC) and other logistics to Sudan-based Nepali Police unit may not be met. Home Ministry official has said that even if the fast track was processed, it would take one month.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal directed concerned stakeholders to send logistics at soonest using either the fund of Police Welfare Council or government budget. However, a senior government official reported that even if Prime Minister’s directive was to be followed, the government will need three months time. The government is thinking of requesting UN for a deadline extension.

Experts have now warned the repatriation of the police mission from Sudan will have negative image and will be questioned on the institution’s credibility at international level. A recently retired general has said, “It will be very difficult to regain credibility; it will affect Nepal’s police prospects of future deployment in UN mission”.

Bryan Adams to perform in Nepal

Jan 2, 2011 @ 03:55
This New Year will bring joy for music fans in Nepal. Winner of many music awards, a Canadian artiste Bryan Adams is to perform in Nepal in February, 2011.
The Bryan Adams live-in-concert will be organized by JPR events and supported by ODC Network. They informed to media that Adam’s agent Roi Lamb had already been here to check out the venue for the event and the Hotel where the singer will be staying.
It is good for the country as Nepal is celebrating 2011 as Tourism Year, and Adam’s visit will highlight this around the globe. Adams will also be performing in India and Bangladesh.

2010 was a year full of strike

Jan 2, 2011 @ 18:43

Out of 365 days, 125 days involved bandhs and other strikes called by various political parties according to police statistics. Mathematically, on average, 10 days of strike took place every month.

The biggest political party UCPN Maoists topped the list for organizing 20 strikes including the longest strike staged by the Maoists for six straight days demanding resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Political parties and interest groups did not live up to their commitment of not calling for any form of strikes till Nepal Tourism year 2011. All three major parties including Maoists, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have reneged on their promises of not calling for strike until Nepal Tourism year 2011.

Bhuwan KC becomes a politician

Jan 4, 2011 @ 17:16

Famous Nepali actor Bhuwan KC has formally entered politics by joining the CPN-UML. Prime Minister has warmly welcomed Bhuwan KC as a politician in his party. Bhuwan KC will be working as a part of the Janapakshiya Chalachitrakarmi Sangh.

KC always wanted to become a part of CPN-UML because he is very close to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and he likes Nepal as a politician.

Dabur bosses released on bail

Jan 6, 2011 @ 11:11

The chief executive of Dabur Nepal, Udayan Ganguly, and Production Head Indranil Gupta were released on bail of Rs 50 million on Wednesday.

The commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) raid, on December 20, found wrong print of manufacturer dates on Company’s food production. The unauthorized print on 74 thousand cartons of Real Juice was found. CIAA penalized the company with such amount.
The CIAA interrogation with top officials of Dabur Nepal revealed that the later had mistaken for stamping false manufacturing dates due to miscommunication among company’s staff.
A CIAA team sealed Rs. 80 million worth Real Juice that had wrong manufactured date.

Businessman robbed in the valley

Jan 7, 2011 @ 08:43

A businessman was robbed of Rs 7 million by three motorcycle borne looters in Kamalpohkari, Kathmandu. The incident took place on January 06, 2011 in the daylight. The motorbike with number Ba 22 Pa 1734 robbed Pawan Sariya in the afternoon after he walked out of apartment nearby Himal Nursing Home. However, the mentioned motorbike number is yet to be confirmed if it is real or fake.

After the incident, the police have kept its entire administration on high alert and tighten the security in the valley entry points.

Kamlari girls rescued

Jan 8, 2011 @ 08:39

Eight Kamlari young girls were rescued by Children Welfare Community in Dang. They are usually sold as chattel slaves. Those girls fall in the age group between 12-15 years. They belong to poor Tharu families.

Government has already freed thousands of Kamaiyas, bonded slaves or Kamlari from their masters. Yet, the practices of keeping Kamlaris in the name of tradition in some far western district have not stopped.

Students arrested for submitting fake documents

Jan 8, 2011 @ 11:48

Seven students, who applied for student visa at American Embassy, were arrested by Police on the charge of producing fake documents to obtain student visa to USA. The arrest was made after the US Embassy in Kathmandu reported to the Metropolitan Police Crime Division.
Some educational consultancies in Kathmandu help these students get forged academic certificates and bank statement. The students who applied for the visas with fake documents refused to cooperate with embassy officials about the education consultancies behind the forgery.

Police have arrested Jatin Shrestha, accountant at Gulmohar Educare for forging documents for money. The embassy will disqualify all the students from applying visa in future if they are found to be involved in forging documents.

It is shame that because of some students applying for the visas with fake documents, not only they are disqualified from applying visa in the future, but also it is affected to other students who are determined to get good education abroad. Embassy officials may be reluctant to provide visas to even well-qualified students with legitimate documents.

Raid on Disco bar

Jan 10, 2011 @ 04:35

The Durbarmarg-based Platinum Disco bar was raided by police for partying late Friday night. It has been reported that the police raided the bar for not closing on time.

On Saturday police freed 45 revelers who were in the Disco bar partying; however six Disco Employees are still under custody for further investigation. Hema Lama, Samir Maharjan, Ajay Lama, Tashi Lama, Apurna Basnet and Sujant Shakya, all employees at Paltinum Disco bar are still to be freed.

NC not to work with UML led government

Jan 11, 2011 @ 16:48

NC has decided not to work with UML led government if the latter decides to vote against NC Prime Minister Ram Chandra Paudel. The next round of prime ministerial voting will be held on Wednesday.

NC President Sushil Koirala repeated the NC’s request to the UML to cast vote for Paudel by revising the decision made by UML central committee not to vote in favor of NC candidate. “If you decide to vote against our candidate it will be difficult to for us to work along with UML led government in the future”, Koirala told the UML leaders.

Nepal should learn quake lessons

Jan 12, 2011 @ 16:19

Nepal has a history of devastating earthquakes. Many people have died in the past. Nobody knows when that massive earthquake may hit again in the future. If Nepal is not prepared for it, the country will suffer a big loss in terms of people, home and property.

The United State embassy has urged the country to implement lessons learned from Haiti earthquake last year to ensure that Nepal does not suffer the same fate. The well preparation could reduce may lives and human suffering if the massive earthquake is to hit in the future.
This week marks the anniversary of the tragic earthquake that hit Nepal back in 1934. An 8.3 Richter quake shook Kathmandu on January 16, 1934 resulting in massive damage to property and lives. Likewise a devastating earthquake hit island nation of Haiti last year on January 12, which caused 220,000 people to die and many were left homeless. Both natural disasters offer important lessons for Nepal today.

Apparently, no major preparations have been made in the country. However, the United States applauded the Government of Nepal’s recent inauguration of Emergency Operation Centre located at the Home Ministry.

US warns of travel to Nepal

Jan 13, 2011 @ 20:25
Right on the eve of Nepal Tourism year 2011, which Nepal government is commemorating with an aim of bringing more than 1 million tourists, the US Department of state warns the US citizens of travel risk to Nepal.

The Department of state is still concerned about the security situation in Nepal, and the US travelers get the latest updates on security and political situation before they travel to the country. Such warning has come as a serious spoiler before the beginning of Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

In the past few months, although there have been relatively fewer major disturbances, political tensions remain. Protests, demonstrations and disruptions continue without notice in advance. This was one of the reasons for the Department of State to consider Nepal an unsafe place to travel. The other reason being the Maoists as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” organization under Executive order 13224, and its inclusion on the Terrorist Exclusion List remain in effect.

Standard Chartered Bank in Lalitpur robbed

Jan 15, 2011 @ 10:15

An armed group looted Rs 1.4 million from Lalitpur-based Standard Chartered bank in broad daylight on Friday. A motorcycle-borne gang barged into bank and held the staff at gunpoint in the afternoon demanding for money.
Three looters came on the bike (Ba 21 BWa 2856) at around 1:10 pm in the afternoon and looted Rs 1.4 million from the bank. The security guard did not retaliate against the looters. The searching for the looter is on according to police.

WikiLeaks on royal mission

Jan 15, 2011 @ 10:19

In its latest leaks on US Embassy diplomatic cables, the Wikileaks has revealed that King Gyanendra, in 2005, had tried to convince then US Ambassador to make his country support the autocratic royal rule.

When the Maoist insurgency was in full swing, a meeting had taken place between then Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramesh Nath Pandey and US envoy James F Moriarty. In the meeting, Pandey told ambassador Moriarty that the US was not supportive of King Gyanendra, and this might indirectly lead the Maoist rebels taking over the country.

National Flag will remain unchanged

Jan 17, 2011 @ 17:36

Three big parties including UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have made a common agreement on not to change the current national flag in the new constitution.
Maoist leaders had been insisting on some change requirements in the current flag claiming that the existing flag represents the feudal monarchial system. However, the leaders present at the meeting have said that the change in the explanatory notes on the flag in the constitution will take into effect to explain the recent political movements and to recognize political achievements.

Singer Kumar Kancha dies at 54

Jan 17, 2011 @ 17:55

Famous singer Kumar Kancha, who has sang in more than 100 Nepali movies and who has also acted in some movies, passed away while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Mumbai on Monday.

The singer was battling against Spinal-cord-tumor for more than seven months. He was also partially paralyzed due to tumor. Kancha was born in Calcutta on Dec 13, 1957. He used to live with his wife and two sons. Apart from a successful singing career, he has also acted in Nepali movies such ‘Lahure’ and ‘Koseli’. Kumar Kancha has also sang in more than thousand songs in over 25 languages in India. He has also won national level award for his brilliant acting in the movie ‘Piya ka Gaon’.

DPM Gachchhadar wants small parties to form government

Jan 19, 2011 @ 02:36

Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar believes that the government should be formed by the small parties if the big three parties fail to form the government. The deadline set by the president to form the government is closer. If they fail to form the government within the deadline, the small parties should be given the responsibility to form the new government.

Taking part in an interaction in Parasi, Gachchhadar accused the big parties of not being too serious about forming new government, concluding the peace process and drafting the constitution. “It is the greed for power that delayed the formation of a new government and created political confusion”, accused Gachchhadar.

Consensus among the three parties would not be possible as they are busy in fighting for power. His party is ready to fulfill the people’s mandate if the major parties fail to form the government.

Robbery incidents intensify in the capital

Jan 20, 2011 @ 04:51

In separate incidents in the valley, cash and other valuables that worth more than 4 lakhs have been stolen or looted on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Giri Dhari Adhikari of Kaski who was staying in the Lumbini Guest House was robbed of Rs 1.20 lakh with a bag and a watch on Wednesday. A group of four people in a taxi (Ba. 1 Ja 911 ) looted Adhikari early in the morning .

In another incident, an unidentified group of men looted Rs. 1.50 lakh from Ramesh Kumar Ghimire when he was walking towards Dillibazar along the banks of Dhobikhola at Om Hospital, Chabahil. Ghimire was robbed at 1a.m. in the morning.

Likewise, on Tuesday, an unidentified woman looted ornaments worn by Subhadra Adhikari, 60, at KMC -11, Maitighar. The woman was friendly to Adhikari and made her drink fruit juice that was added with sedatives. The woman looted a pair of gold earrings, a ring and a chain.

In another incident, unidentified persons broke into the rented house of Rajesh Khadka and looted Rs 15,000. Police have said that the investigation is on to identify all these robbers.

Though the security in the valley has been extended, these sorts of incidents continue. It is also our responsibility to learn how to keep ourselves secured besides just depending upon the security provided by the government.

Om Hospital under scanner

Jan 20, 2011 @ 17:37

After a baby died with its stomach split open following an operation carried out by a team of doctors in Om Hospital, the relatives of the child had filed a case against Dr. Bhola Rijal, Dr. Rita Manandhar, Dr. KP Devkota, D. Ananda Prasad Shrestha, Dr. Amit Shrestha, Dr. Amod Prasad Tuladhar, and Dr. Pratima Shrestha.

The relatives of the child claimed the baby died due to the hospital’s negligence. However, the hospital refuted the accusation and said that the baby died due to gastroschisis.

Department of Commerce had sent the hospital a letter three days ago after the kin of the deceased child filed a case against seven doctors and the hospital. The investigation is on and the DoC has asked the concerned bodies to provide details of the investigation within a week.

President to extend another five days for consensus government

Jan 21, 2011 @ 15:53

Based on the request made by three big parties; UCPN (Maoists), Nepali Congress and UML, President Ram Baran Yadav extended the deadline to form consensus government by five days. A meeting of all 28 parties also approved on the decision made by the President.

DSP commits suicide

Jan 23, 2011 @ 07:37

Kanchan Thapa, 41, a Nepal Police DSP has committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol. He shot his right temple with the pistol. This incident took place at 6:30 pm at his residence in Bashundhara.

The officer was announced dead at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

Khanal Slapping triggers angry response

Jan 23, 2011 @ 07:44

Khanal Slapping triggers angry response

Following the slapping of at the program in Itahari, the UML and NC condemning have act with angry response.

Flaying the act, UML-aligned organizations staged anti Maoist demonstrations in Itahari, claiming that Maoists have plotted the slapping incident. The demonstrators stated that the attacker, Devi Prasad Regmi of Sunsari district, is a Maoist cadre. He entered the program venue with the help of Maoist party.  Shouting slogans against Maoists, the demonstrators burnt tyres and created chaotic environment for about an hour.

Regmi is in the custody of the Sunsari District Police Office.

Regmi turning into a celebrity

Jan 24, 2011 @ 16:09

Though Devi Prasad Regmi (55) of Sunsari currently is in the police custody, and the existing law has confirmed Regmi in custody for public offense, a number of people, who are fed up of the political instability in the country, have supported Regmi.

Thousands of comments on online news reports in support of Regmi, more than 5300 persons choose to ‘Like’ for the support link in face book, and people in USA campaign initiation to release Regmi on bail are just few examples of Regmi-turned-into-a-celebrity story in the nation. His well-wishers have termed him a ‘national hero’ and ‘celebrity’.

Nepalese all over the world have united to support Regmi. Funds from the countries like Qatar, Britain, Japan and Belgium have been raised to support and release Regmi on bail. A website under the domain of www.deviprasadregmi.info with an appeal to help Regmi, terming him a ‘representative of 30 million Nepalis’, has been hosted. It has collected more than Rs 14,000 from Regmi’s well-wishers across the globe.

Regmi is a poor farmer with a small house and a kathha of land in Bharoul. He was taken into custody by police after he slapped UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal at party’s program in Itahari.

Photos of Regmi being felicitated.

Maoist’s own party leader makes a mockery of Chairman Dahal

Jan 26, 2011 @ 10:22

One of the Maoist party leaders indirectly made a mockery of Pushpa Kamal Dahal for claiming the prime ministerial candidacy. Maoist Standing Committee member Top Bahadur Rayamajhi mockingly said it up to seven-time-defeated Dahal whether or not to stand in the prime ministerial election.

Top Bahadur Rayamanjhi is close to Vice President Baburam Bhattarai. He added that the party has yet to decide the candidate for the prime minister’s post though the party has concluded that its leadership in the government will ease the peace and statue drafting process.

Effort to dupe US Embassy

Jan 27, 2011 @ 16:38

In yet another attempt to dupe US Embassy by presenting forging academic certificates and bank statements to acquire student visa, four persons have been arrested by police on Wednesday. The arrested persons include Om Prakash Chaudhary (33) of Saptari, Rosina Shrestha (20) of Dolakha, Kabindra Ghimire (23) of Kathmandu and Dil Bahadur Karki of Dolakha. The US embassy informed the police about these people.

The increasing incidents of forgery have alerted the US embassy to strictly verify the documents for the authenticity.

Inspector Shrestha has clarified that Chaudhary and other arrested persons are the brokers who help education consultancies bring ineligible students to apply for the visa to US. The sole purpose of such activity is nothing but making good money.

The names of the visa applicants, however, have not been revealed citing threat to their future career.

Abducted student found dead

Jan 31, 2011 @ 17:43

HImal Budha (21) of Nepalgunj was found dead on Friday evening after he was abducted in Kohalpur, Banke. Himal was a BA student at Kathmandu based Pashupati Multiple Campus.

HImal had left for his friend’s house on January 17 on his motorbike. He was found murdered in the house of Govinda Thapa at Rajhena of Kohalpur-4 on Friday evening. According to Himal’s relative, the abductors had SMS to HImal’s father demanding the ransom of Rs 3.5 million for the release of HImal.

In yet another incident in Rajbiraj, a 12-year old Sunil Chaudhary has been abducted since 6 days and nothing has been known about him since. According to Sunil’s father, a seventh grader in Model Boarding School has been missing since January 24 when Sunil’s friend Aish Ansari, a 13-year old son of neighbor had called Sunil to play with him. Both have been missing and have not returned home. Sunil’s father Shyam Dev Chaudhary informed the police that an unidentified person had asked for Rs. three million ransom from mobile number 9808704119 on Saturday morning.

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.