Justice eludes Maoist victim’s family for 31 years

By Raju Lamichhane,Rukum West, Sept. 4: It has been 31 years since the killing of Ganesh Shah, the first martyr from Rukum in the run up to the Maoist insurgency, yet his family continues to wait for justice and state recognition.

Ganesh Shah, a local of Khola Gaun in Chaurjahari Municipality–11, Rukum West, was brutally murdered on September 2, 1994 by the then rebel party during the early phase of the conflict. He was serving as the Chairman of then Khola Gaun Village Development Committee and was also a member of the District Development Committee at the time. 

He was on his way to the district headquarters when he was ambushed and killed in Sulihale, Simli, Sani Bheri Rural Municipality–9.

Speaking at a memorial event organised to mark his 31st Martyrdom Day on Tuesday, Shah’s wife, Tula Kumari Shah, expressed her deep sorrow and frustration. 

“I have spent 31 years waiting for justice. Our family fell into hardship after my husband was murdered. The perpetrators fled in the name of the ‘People’s War’, and to this day, no action has been taken. Not even a single rupee in relief has been provided by the state,” she lamented.

Prem Prakash Oli, President of the Nepali Congress Rukum West, who attended the event, claimed that Shah was killed during the ‘Sisne Jaljala (SJ)’ campaign, prior to the Maoist insurgency. Oli informed that Shah was targeted due to his differing political ideology and that his family has been denied state relief because of political discrimination.

According to Oli, the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord between the government and the then Maoists, recognises incidents that occurred after February 13 1996, as part of the conflict period, thereby excluding Shah’s case. 

“Even though the government included his name in the official list of martyrs, his family is yet to receive the compensation and support they deserve,” Oli added. “The family has lived in injustice for over three decades.”

District member and head of the organisation department of the Nepali Congress, Yadu Kumar Acharya, said, “Killing a person does not kill their ideas." He described Shah’s ideology as righteous and everlasting, and labelled the politics of violence as a product of criminal mentality.

Similarly, Chaurjahari Municipality Committee President Prem Bahadur Oli informed that violence and murder can never bring about true change. “The fact that a family has had to wander in search of justice for over 30 years simply because their loved one was murdered for their beliefs is a mockery of the rule of law,” he said.

Khim Bahadur Oli, ward President of the Nepali Congress for Chaurjahari–11, informed that various events are held annually in honour of Shah’s martyrdom.