Kathmandu: A leading Nepalese rights body on Monday said it would appeal to the international community to step in if authorities fail to take action in the case of a youth who was allegedly murdered by Maoists in 2004.
The Human Rights Organisation Nepal (HURON) asked the government to provide justice to Nanda Prasad Adhikari and Ganga Maya Adhikari, a couple from Gorkha district who have been on a fast-unto-death for 101 days to demand action against those who murdered their son Krishna Prasad Adhikari.
HURON president Sudeep Pathak said: "We want to ask the government if it is sure about solving the case. If it is not, we want to appeal to the international community for its support.
"We have been meeting government authorities to request them to speed up the investigation into the murder. We even visited the site of the incident on January 24-25 for a human rights investigation."
Noting that the youth was killed on June 6, 2004, Pathak said nine years is a "very long time" for people seeking justice. "The government should have been able to deliver justice to the couple by now," he told a news agency.
Pathak handed over a letter to the Adhikari couple in recognition of their efforts to get justice.
The couple, fasting at Bir Hospital, have accused the government of failing to book the murderers. According to authorities at the hospital, they are in good health.
"Saline solution is continuously infused. All the vital organs are fine and the blood pressure and sugar level are normal," one official said.
The couple originally started the protest in January last year. Police arrested them and admitted to a mental hospital for 45 days. On their release, they resumed the fast.
They were then admitted to Bir Hospital. They briefly broke their fast when one of the accused was arrested in September 2013.
But the couple resumed their protest when the accused was released after 25 days in custody.
In December last year, another accused was arrested, only to be released after a few days for lack of evidence.
