30 years after his murder, Shah’s family still seeking justice

By Raju Lamichhane,Rukum West, Sept. 4: Thirty years after Ganesh Shah was murdered in Kholagaon-11, Chaurjahari Municipality, Rukum West, his family is still seeking justice.

Addressing a programme organised to mark the 30th death anniversary of Martyr Ganesh Shah on Monday, speakers claimed that his family had not received justice.

Late Shah’s wife, Tula Kumari Shah, expressed frustration that 30 years had passed without justice. 

She stated that after her husband’s death, the family faced significant hardships and lamented that those responsible for his killing evaded accountability under the guise of the ‘people’s war’. 

She also noted that the family had not received any relief from the state.

Ganesh Shah was killed on September 2, 1994, by the Maoist combatants before they had launched the armed conflict in Sulihale, Simli Village Development Committee. 

Shah, the then chairman of Kholagaon Village Development Committee and a district development committee member, was killed when he was heading to the district headquarters for official duties.

Nepali Congress Rukum West vice president Harka Singh Khatri stated that Ganesh Shah was murdered during the Sisne Jaljala campaign, which was initiated by the Maoists before they launched the armed conflict.  Despite this, Shah is yet to receive justice.

He informed that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement inked between the government and the then rebellion party only acknowledged incidents occurring after February 13, 1996, as conflict-related. The Maoists launched armed conflict in February 1996. 

As a result, Ganesh Shah’s family has been denied relief, he said. 

“Neither those who committed murder were arrested, nor was adequate relief provided to the deceased’s family,” said Khatri. 

The Shah’s family has faced 30 years of injustice, he added. 

During the programme, Nepali Congress district member Yadu Kumar Acharya condemned the act of silencing thoughts through violence, calling it criminal and foolish acts. 

He praised Ganesh Shah’s ideas and methods as noble and enduring and called for justice for Shah’s family.

Prem Bahadur Oli, chairman of Chaurjahari municipal committee, criticised the fact that Shah’s family has spent three decades seeking justice for his murder, which he described as a mockery of the rule of law.

He added that Shah was murdered due to ideological beliefs and his family had spent three decades seeking justice was a mockery of the rule of law.

Following Shah’s murder, the government declared him a martyr, and his name is included in the list of those who lost their lives during the conflict.

However, his family has been deprived of the relief typically granted to families of the deceased. 

Despite their efforts to seek assistance at both the district and central levels, they said they were not receiving any support.