STUDENTS SICK DRINKING POISONED WATER Kathmandu, 21 Jan.:- Half a dozen students have taken ill after drinking water from a tank of local Shuvarambha English Lower Secondary School at Laharepauwa VDC-9 in the district, Krishna Thapa writes in The Kathmandu Post from Rasuwa. Head teacher of the school Prakash Ghimire said Trisuli Hospital in Nuwakot, where the ailing students were admitted for treatment, confirmed that insecticide was mixed in the water. He said the students went home after receiving treatment at the hospital. Teachers said the students showed symptom of stomach pain, vomiting and even fell unconscious after drinking the water. "I started vomiting after drinking water from the tank," said Yashoda Acharya, a sixth-grader student. As a result of the incident, students and teachers are a terrified lot. Police said insecticide might have been mixed in the water. The District Police Office said that it ordered police to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, saying that it was a crime to mix insecticide in water, the Private and Boarding Schools' Organisation, Nepal (PABSON) condemned the incident and demanded action against the perpetrators. nnnn TEAM LEAVES FOR SITE OF INVESTIGATE JOURNALIST THAPA MURDER Kathmandu, 21 Jan.:- A police team led by investigating officer Inspector Binod Sharma left for Naumule and Dwari areas in the district on Sunday to collect evidences of the murder of journalist Dekendra Thapa, Prakash Adhikari writes in The Kathmandu Post from Dailekh. . "We will reach Naumule and Dwari areas, where Thapa was abducted and murdered and collect evidences from Monday by talking to concerned people about the incident," Sharma said. The District Police Office said police were searching for those involved in the abduction and murder of Thapa. "It will be easier to identify the persons who ordered the abduction and killing of Thapa if those involved in the incident are arrested," a police official said. He added that the case cannot proceed by letting the main perpetrators walk free. Meanwhile, the district police complained that they were not being assisted by concerned sectors to arrest the accused. Other accused in the journalist murder case--Bam Bahadur Khadka of Katti, Bam Bahadur Khadka and Keshab Khadka of Chhiudipusakot and Bhaktiram Lamichhane of Dwari--are out of the district. "We cannot arrest those who are out of the district. We have informed concerned district police offices and subordinate units about the matter. However, we don't know why they have not been arrested so far," Sharma said. He added that they will initiate the process to arrest them if the concerned district police office fails to do so. nnnn1 MISMATCH Kathmandu, 21 Jan.: Even as report of Forensic Department of TUTH shows that Saraswoti Subedi and Sabina Tamang committed suicide, those blamed for their death have been facing murder charge, Republica reports.. The investigation committee formed to monitor these cases has already submitted its report to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. However, the police have made no significant progress on the case. According to the forensic report, the two had hung themselves to death. Spokesperson at Metropolitan Police Office Range, Kathmandu, DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh, said, “Those accused of Saraswoti´s murder will be presented to the court within two to three days.” He said they had to continue investigation as a murder case has been filed against the accused. The accused -- Krishna Prasad Prasai, his wife and son -- have been kept at Hanumandhoka. Similarly DSP Shekhar Khanal of Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Kalimati, said Sabina had hung herself to death according to the forensic report. Sabina, 15, who was working as a domestic help in Kalanki, Lampati, was found hanging in the bathroom, on January 3. Sabina´s relatives have claimed that she was murdered. Arbin Shakya, Indira Thapa and Jhanu Thapa have been detained at Kalimati Police Circle on the charge of murdering Sabina. Nnnn NC DEPUTING LEADERS TO DISTRICTS Kathmandu, 21 Jan.: The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to intensify protests against the Baburam Bhattarai-led government, Republica reports.. An emergency meeting of the party´s Central Working Committee (CWC) held to endorse statutes of various sister organizations on Sunday also decided to depute central level leaders to districts across the country to make the protests successful. The names of the leaders to be deputed to the districts will be finalized in consultation with the leaders concerned, said CWC member Man Bahadur Bishwakarma. The NC decision comes in the wake of various opposition parties launching a 20-day anti-government protest in the first phase to oust the Bhattarai-led government. The meeting concluded that anti-government protests in coordination with other opposition parties was a must as Prime Minister Bhattarai was neither in favor of consensus, nor prepared for fresh polls. Addressing the meeting, NC President Sushil Koirala had directed party leaders to play an active role in the protest programs, saying UCPN (Maoist) wants to impose totalitarianism in the country. He said that party will however keep doors for negotiations open. Speaking at the meeting, NC Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel said all efforts to forge consensus had proved futile as the Maoists were not in favor of consensus apparently to defer fresh polls. “Fresh protest is a must as democracy is in peril,” CWC member Dil Bahadur Gharti quoted Paudel as saying at the meeting. Only about 50 percent of the total members of CWC were present in the Sunday´s meeting originally called for endorsing the statutes of the party´s various sister organizations, including Nepal Tarun Dal, Nepal Women´s Association and Aadibasi Janajati Mahasangh to facilitate their general conventions. Earlier, CWC meeting had entrusted general secretaries Krishna Sitaula and Prakash Man Singh with making necessary amendments to the statutes by incorporating suggestions received from CWC members. Altogether 15 CWC members including Bal Bahadur KC, Bal Krishna Khand, Dr Minendra Rijal, N P Saud, Dr Shekhar Koirala, Aananda Prasad Dhungana, Surya Man Gurung, Ram Kumar Chaudhari, Kamala Pant, Mahendra Yadav, Pushpa Bhusal, Surendra Raj Pandey, Kishor Singh Rathour and Meena Subba had addressed the meeting. According to CWC member Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, the meeting also endorsed a report concerning indigenous nationalities prepared by a panel headed by late CWC member Bhim Bahadur Tamang. The panel was formed in the wake indigenous nationalities demanding single-identity-based federal state and allegations that NC did not have clear policy concerning issues related to indigenous nationalities. Nnnn BHUTANESE REFUGEE MURDER CCUSED MADE PUBLIC Kathmandu, 21 Jan.:: Police today [Sunada] made public 24-year-old Dawa Tamang, accused of murdering Buddhi Maya, a pregnant Bhutanese refugee in Morang’s Sanischare-based Bhutanese Refugee Camp nine months ago, The Himalayan Times reports from Biratnagar. . Dawa made public in a press conference organised in Area Police Office, Pathari. Six-month pregnant Buddhi Maya Rai of Refugee Camp’s Sector 1, Hut No 65, was shot dead on May 2, 2012. Buddhi Maya’s husband, Parshuram had been injured in the incident. Dawa had randomly shot Rai couple when they were asleep at night. Parshuram is in the United States now through the Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement Programme. He left the country two months ago. Police had arrested Dawa, who used to live in the same Camp’s Sector E1, Hut No-39 on Thursday. Inspector Keshav Bhattarai said during the interrogation Dawa had confessed to shooting Rai couple. Police had arrested Dawa from Jhapa’s Beldangi Refugee Camp, said Inspector Bhattarai. “We had initially held Dawa for illegal possesion of a pistol, but in the course of investigation it was found that he was involved in Buddhi Maya’s murder,” he added. Police said quoting Dawa, “My plan was to kill Parshuram as he had been planning to betray me by falsely implicating me, but my plan failed as his wife died instead of him,” adding, “When I reached their hut both of them were asleep, I shot both of them, coincidentally Parshuram survived the attack while his wife died.” “It took me a long time to buy the pistol, learn to use it and to hatch the murder plan,” police quoted Dawa as saying. Dawa, however, has not revealed about the owner of the pistol from whom he had bought the pistol, said Inspector Bhattarai. Police further said that action would be taken against Dawa after further investigation. Nnnn SERIOUS CONCERN ON NEPAL SHOWN AGAIN Kathmaaaandu, 21 Jan.: The Asia Pacific Group (APG) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) showed serious concern about Nepal’s delay in approving the Bill against Organised Crime during the face-to-face meeting last week, The Himalayan Times reports. The Hong Kong face-to-face meet from January 14 to 18 has shown concern as the country has repeatedly failed to fulfill its international commitment to approve the Bill against Organised Crime also due to the ruling UCPN-Maoist’s internal dispute, as it suspects that most of their leaders and cadres will be booked, if it is implemented. Nepal had committed to approve three key Bills — Mutual Legal Assistance Bill, Extradition Bill and Bill against Organised Crime — by December 2010, but has been able to approve only Mutual Legal Assistance Bill and Extradition Bill. “The Bill against Organised Crime is key among the three,” a member of the Nepali team said, adding that the government’s delay in approving the Bill might hit the country as it will have serious ramifications like the arrest of Colonel Kumar Lama in the UK due to the country not living up to its international commitments. “Failure to approve the Bill against Organised Crime could lead the country to a high risk zone to do business with international players,” the member said. However, the Nepali team informed the meeting that the government has already forwarded the Bill as an ordinance to the President due to the absence of a parliament and it will be approved soon. Approval of the Bill against Organised Crime is important for the country to escape blacklisting by FATF — an inter-governmental body consisting of 36 member-jurisdictions and a number of observers — during the February plenary in Paris, he added. “The country has repeatedly failed to live up to its global commitment in the fight against the flow of dirty money,” he said, adding that last time too, the country had escaped blacklisting as it had approved the two Bills. “Though the Nepali team informed the APG of prolonged political transition and deepening Constitutional crisis, the plenary on February 18-22 in Paris, will decide the country’s fate,” he said, adding that the APG was, however, satisfied with the second amendment of the Anti Money Laundering Act, and some legal and technical progress. The country has, according to its commitment, prepared a draft of second amendment of Anti Money Laundering Act, which is under discussion. Likewise, the Insurance Board and Securities Board of Nepal have also brought regulations to check the flow of dirty money, besides the restructuring of the Department of Anti-Money Laundering and independency of the Financial Information Unit under the central bank. However, the Department of Anti-Money Laundering has seen four chiefs in less than two years of its establishment due to the incumbent government’s pressure to not file cases against Politically Exposed Persons and gangsters, who have accumulated wealth without any legal source of income nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “NC and UML have been asking me to serve food equally to everyone but have warned me against touching the spoon. How can I serve without touching the spoon?” (Chairman Pachanda in The Himalayan Times, 21 Jan.)