KATHMANDU, July 6: Gauri Shankar Ram Chamar, an eyewitness and survivor of the deadly 2008 Rautahat bomb blast, has claimed that his life is in danger from Nepali Congress leader Mohammad Aftab Alam who was recently acquitted by the High Court in a controversial verdict.
Speaking at a press conference in Kathmandu on Sunday, Chamar called the court's decision flawed and urged the government to deliver justice. He said he witnessed the incident while working at a brick kiln allegedly owned by Alam in Rautahat.
“I’m deeply saddened by his release,” Chamar said. “A man like that walked free — he has even threatened me. I fear for my life now.”
Recalling the day of the explosion, Chamar showed burn injuries on his body and narrated his experience. He said he had been called to collect his weekly wage when the bomb detonated near the house. “Flames engulfed me. I ran screaming and jumped into a nearby water source. That’s how I survived,” he said.
He later regained consciousness in Sitamarhi, Bihar, on a cart. Chamar alleged that neither Alam nor his associates inquired about him or offered any assistance after the incident.
“I appeal to the government — do not let such a man walk free. He must be given the harshest punishment,” he said, adding that his health has deteriorated since the blast, and he struggles to find work.
Chamar said he spent around INR 350,000 on treatment during a three-month hospital stay. “I even had to sell bricks the government had provided to build my house,” he said, emotionally. “Alam and his men never asked how I was doing. Not even one rupee.”
Due to severe burn injuries, Chamar said he cannot work under the sun and is often dismissed shortly after finding a job. “People treat me like a spectacle. Wherever I go, they start taking pictures,” he said. “My life is ruined — I don’t know how to live or what to eat.”
He also revealed that Alam’s men threatened his mother after he gave his statement to police. “They told her, ‘Your son is finished. He won’t survive more than a couple of years,’” he said.
Chamar came to Kathmandu specifically to challenge the High Court’s decision that overturned a previous ruling by the District Court, which had convicted Alam based on police investigation and evidence.
The case dates back to the eve of the 2008 Constituent Assembly election when a bomb exploded at the home of Alam’s uncle in Rautahat. Alam was accused of orchestrating the production of bombs intended to disrupt the elections. Survivors claimed that the injured were burned alive in a nearby brick kiln to destroy evidence.
After years of delay, police gathered enough evidence to prosecute Alam. The District Court convicted him, but the Birgunj High Court recently overturned the verdict, acquitting him — a move that has reignited the victims’ fight for justice.