YET ANOTHER ABUSE CHARGE LEVELLED

December 6, 2002 – (Kathmandu Post) A Bhutanese refugee woman from Beldangi-1 refugee camp in Jhapa levelled charges against now-retired deputy director of Refugee Co-ordination Unit (RCU) for allegedly molesting her some two years ago in his office.

Purnima Magar, 27, alleged that she has still not got justice despite filing reports to the government and concerned agencies against former assistant Chief District Officer and RCU deputy director Jay Narayan Mandal who she accused of trying to molest her in February 8,
2001. Meanwhile, Mandal denied the charges in Kathmandu today.

"On that day, Mandal called me inside his office room. After I sat on the sofa, he talked of securing a job for me and asked me several questions related to the camps. Then, all of a sudden he caught hold of me, caressed my checks and tried to pull me towards him," alleged an unmarried Magar. "I freed myself from his grip and ran away." She said she would not rest until "I get justice". She also accused Mandal of directing the police to arrest Chhabilal Thapa, the secretary at the camp for provoking Magar and keeping him in custody for 40 days When The Kathmandu Post contacted Mandal, who stays in the Baneshwor area in the capital now, he denied the allegations. "No such incident occurred," he said today.

Mandal added that there were other people in the office then and "had such an incident occurred, they could have easily found it out." Moreover, he added, "why didn’t the district administration and the police take action against me? They are not my relatives."

This allegation comes when the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is probing the cases of sexual harassment against Bhutanese refugee women and girls. A three-member investigation team from Inspector General’s Office of the UNHCR reported 18 specific cases of sexual violence against Bhutanese refugee women and girls in the camps between June 2001 and October 2002.

The UNHCR officials in Kathmandu said that they would probe further cases and bring the culprits to book. The 16 of the 18 alleged offenders, all refugees working with aid agencies in the camps, have either resigned or been dismissed. The UNHCR officials said that cases will be filed against the culprits as per Nepal’s law.

The other two accused are Nepal government employees: one policeman and the other an official of the Refugee Co-ordination Unit (RCU).

Tika Ram Aryal, the CDO of Jhapa said he was not aware if charges were levelled against any RCU or the policeman. "But I have already directed that cases be filed against the accused."

Magar also alleged that three other women in the camp had related their woes of being "abused" by Mandal, adding that threats by the then RCU deputy director had silenced them from lodging their complaints.

The former assistant CDO, who admitted that the refugee woman had reported the alleged incident, also questioned the relevance of the reappearance of the complaint nearly two years after it occurred. "I don’t understand why this is being raised now?"

From: http://www.mahilaweb.org/footer/news/dec_02/kathmandu_post.htm