KATHMANDU, May 29: The Janakpur High Court's temporary bench in Birgunj acquitted Nepali Congress leader and former minister Mohammad Aftab Alam of serious criminal charges, citing a lack of evidence.
The joint bench of Judges Khusiprasad Tharu and Arjun Maharjan overturned the life imprisonment sentence that the Rautahat District Court had handed down to Alam and three others, deciding to acquit them on Wednesday.
The High Court has not yet released the written verdict. Dipak Bhandari, registrar of the Janakpur High Court's temporary bench in Birgunj, said the brief verdict recorded in the case file cited three key reasons for acquitting Alam. He added that the High Court found no concrete evidence to confirm the bombing incident at Alam's house on April 9, 2008.
The bench also ruled that the plaintiff failed to present evidence proving that the perpetrators put the alleged blast victims, Trilok Pratap Singh (also known as Pintu) and Oshi Akhtar, on a tractor and burned them alive at Raja Brick Kiln.
Dipak Bhandari explained that the bench acquitted Alam based on a third reason: the forensic report did not support the claim that the victims died by being burned at the brick kiln. He added that the court found no grounds to uphold the government's appeal against the district court's acquittal of one of the accused.
The district court had convicted Alam and others, including former minister Sheikh Idris, accusing them of burning Trilok Pratap, Oshi, and others alive at a brick kiln after injuring them in a blast during bomb-making at Sheikh Idris's house.
Alam has been framed, argues Alam's lawyer Raman Shrestha
District Judge Matrikaprasad Acharya's bench sentenced Alam, his brother Mohammad Mobin, and two others to life imprisonment. Authorities arrested Alam on October 13, 2019, 12 years after the incident. Alam served twice as a Member of Parliament from Rautahat constituency no. 2 and once as Minister of Labour and Transport.
Attorney General Ramesh Badal said the government will review the evidence and grounds cited in the High Court verdict and may file an appeal, so the court's decision will not be final yet. He explained that the government will appeal the case of "attempt to kill using explosive substances, including bombs and culpable homicide" if needed.
Badal added, "The government leads this criminal case. We heard that the accused was acquitted. If we remain unsatisfied with the verdict's grounds and reasons, we will file an appeal." He also stated that authorities must await the full text of the verdict before making any final decisions.
Earlier, the Supreme Court rejected former minister Alam's bail request while he was in custody. Supreme Court judges Sushmalata Mathema and Nahakul Subedi ordered him to remain in pretrial detention as the case proceeds. Before this, the Rautahat District Court had issued a preliminary order to keep Alam in pretrial custody.
Alam approached the High Court in Birgunj, seeking bail against the district court's order, but the High Court upheld that decision. Afterwards, Alam filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking to cancel the detention orders issued by both the district and high courts. The Supreme Court bench upheld both courts' orders.
The incident was as follows:
During the first Constituent Assembly election, on April 9, 2008, a bomb exploded at Sheikh Idris's house in Rajpur, Rautahat, around 6 PM. People brought from Nepal and India had been making the bombs. Police investigations showed that the explosion happened during the bomb-making process. The investigation also revealed that former minister Alam was involved in the incident.
The investigation found that the explosion killed 24-year-old Trilok Pratap Singh, known as Pintu, from Saruatha, and 22-year-old Oshi Akhtar. Eyewitnesses said the explosion injured them. To cover up the incident, the perpetrators allegedly took the injured to a brick kiln and burned them. The complaint also claimed that two Indians died at the scene.
Shrinarayan Singh, Pintu's father, and Ruksana Khatun, Oshi's mother, filed a police complaint accusing Alam of directing the incident. The complaint named Alam, his brother Mohammad Mobin, Sheikh Bhadai, Shesh Seraj (also known as Sheikh Seraj), Sheikh Fazlhak, Sagir Alam, Sheikh Jumain (also known as Sheikh Malkar), Gourishankar Sah, Badri Sahni, and Mukti Sah as participants in the case.
When the police initially refused to register the complaint, the victims' relatives sent it by post. During the investigation, police found only Oshi’s clothes and sandals at the scene. The Rautahat police then collected soil samples from the brick kiln and sent them to the police forensic laboratory. However, the lab did not conduct the soil test due to a lack of testing technology. When the police submitted their report to the District Government Attorney's Office (DAGO), officials rejected the case due to insufficient evidence. The DAGO also approved the same report.
After the police refused to proceed with the case, the victims' relatives filed a petition at the Supreme Court. While the court considered the petition, someone murdered Oshi's mother, Ruksana. Two years after the relatives filed the petition, the Supreme Court overturned the DAGO’s decision and ordered further investigation and to bring the case to court. However, authorities did not advance the case for another seven years.
Attorney Pushpa Paudel filed a contempt of court case against the Attorney General's office, the government attorney's office in Rautahat, and the police as defendants. The Supreme Court finally ordered the DAGO to submit a report on the order's implementation, after which the court registered the case.
According to the police report, the government filed a case in the Rautahat District Court seeking life imprisonment for the accused. After someone shot and killed Ruksana, authorities charged Alam with her murder.
The district court sentenced Alam and the other accused to two years in prison and a fine of Rs 20,000 for possessing explosives, life imprisonment for murder, and ten years in prison with a fine of Rs 100,000 for the attempted murder charge.
