Justice To Cooperative Victims

The case of misappropriation of cooperative funds has stretched over a year now.  While the government states that it is committed to punishing the wrongdoers and giving money back to the victims, the current situation is far from different. The alleged involvement of Rabi Lamichhane, president of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party has put the focus more on him than on the pleas of the victims. 

In the latest turn of events, a senior advocate representing the cooperative victims was attacked by a group of Lamichhane’s supporters. The advocate was representing the victims in the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative case.  Lamichhane and 39 other individuals had been made an opponent in the case. They were accused of misappropriating the savings of the cooperative situated in Kathmandu, seeking a total of Rs. 50.87 million in compensation. Earlier too, Lamichhane had been accused of misappropriating funds from Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative of Pokhara. Then too, the RSP party supporters had been reported vandalising outside the Kaski District Court. 

The police have reportedly arrested an individual said to be involved in the attack but has not disclosed his name. After Rabi Lamichhane’s name dragged into the whole cooperative fraud case, his supporters and his party members have continued their condemnation through mass protests. And this time too, there was a large group of supporters waiting outside the Kathmandu District Court, for the latest verdict.  As of now, the Kathmandu District Court has ordered the release of Lamichhane on bail of Rs. 6 million.

The main issue in this whole situation is the uncivil behaviour demonstrated by the supporters. Their protests are far from peaceful. Rather their behaviour has been one of disrespect and ignorance. While the supporters are concerned with their leader’s safety, they need to understand that their action is causing harassment to the victims. Attacking the advocate means a direct attack on the victims themselves. It is an attack on their ability to get justice and showing total ignorance and mocking the victim's problems. The advocate in question was reported saying that the mob had mishandled him shouting that he was the one who had caused Lamicchane’s arrest. 

The political party has said that it would punish if anyone from within the party were a part of the attack. This is a big embarrassment for the political party itself. Lamicchane and his political party emerged as a new hope for the younger generation. But for it to be a new hope in reality, it must adhere to the principles of democracy and should put their effort into working for the rights and justice of the people. 

If a similar situation happens in the future itself, the advocating community will be discouraged to take upon cases involving a high profile opponent. That will not only create an unfair system but also make general people feel further harassed. The case of cooperatives fund misappropriation has now become a circus. No one knows what is happening but everyone has become a part of it. And we are out of touch with reality. It is no more a civil but a political issue, with no concrete solution. The country is in need of a strict mechanism to immediately help the victims get justice.