Nepalese labourers threaten agitation

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 23

Labourers of the Nepali Ekta Manch have threatened to stage a protest against the state government over the murder of Suraj, a Nepali labour and one of the six accused in the Kotkhai rape and murder case, in the police lock-up. They made it clear that their protest would not impact the apple season, as it was the prime season for them to earn. They said their anger was aimed at the police.

Nepali labourers working in Mahasu and Kotkhai areas have come out in support of Mamta, Suraj’s wife. The body of the girl was recovered from the Dandi forest near Haliala village on July 6, where Suraj and Rajinder Singh, another accused in the case, lived.

There is a widespread public perception that Suraj was allegedly framed in the case. It was on the demand of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) supporting the family of the Kotkhai rape and murder victim that Mamta was shifted from her Haliala hutment to Nari Niketan.

“The JAC will not participate in any protest that creates law and order problem,” said Balak Ram Chauhan, JAC convener. Rakesh Singha, president, Himachal Apple and Vegetable Growers’ Association, said the fallout of the Nepalese protest on the season will be negligible.