Nagarkot massacre
Encyclopedia
The Nagarkot massacre was an act of mass murder
that occurred on December 14, 2005 at the Kali Devi
temple in Chihandanda near Nagarkot
, Nepal
. Off-duty RNA sergeant
Basudev Thapa (वासुदेव थापा), 26, indiscriminately shot at villagers, celebrating at the temple, with an assault rifle
, killing 11 and injuring 19 more, before he himself was shot by his fellow soldiers. The shooting was said to be sparked by an argument between Thapa and some of the villagers.
Basudev Thapa, stationed at the Nagarkot barrack, and youths from the nearby Pipalbot village with whom he had a long-standing enmity. When the youths began to beat him up, the allegedly drunk soldier attacked one of them with a knife. Yelling "I'll come back and kill you all" Thapa, bruised from the fight, drove off in his motorcycleCold Blood, Nepali Times (December 16, 2005) and returned to the barracks, where he armed himself with an L1A1 SLR
. Although he was off-duty at that time, Thapa was allowed to leave the barracks with the gun without fulfilling any formality.
After about half an hour, at 11.30 p.m., Thapa and three of his colleagues returned to the temple grounds. He fired a few shots in the air, before shooting indiscriminately at the people who were trying to seek refuge within the temple from the gunman.
Though many initial news reports named 12 civilians killed, the official report states that only 11 people were shot to death and 19 others wounded by the more than 200 shots fired, before Thapa himself was killed. According to RNA statements, Thapa committed suicide, though many witnesses said that he was killed by one of his colleagues, while he was still firing at the villagers. An investigation of Thapa's body found that he died of a chest wound that could not possibly have been self-inflicted, thus contradicting the official version.
In consequence human rights activists and opposition parties, as well as the people from Nagarkot demonstrated, demanding an impartial investigation and denouncing frequent human rights violations by and severe corruptness and indiscipline within the RNA.
As a response the government formed a three-member judicial commission to investigate the incident and proposed to pay compensations of 150,000 Nepalese rupee
s to each of the victims families and to bear the expenses for treating the injured. Further the RNA also established a probe committee to scrutinise the massacre.
The official report was released on January 3, 2006 and stated, that "Thapa committed suicide by shooting himself and no evidence was found of the involvement of any other person except Thapa in the incident". Further it was noted that Thapa had a history of indiscipline and obstructing work and that the leading officer of the Nagarkot barracks had failed to maintain discipline among his personnel. The report also recommended to compensate the victims and their families and to take care of their education and livelihood.
Victims of the massacre protested several times in Kathmandu, because of the passivity of the government in providing the compensations recommended by the probe committee.
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
that occurred on December 14, 2005 at the Kali Devi
KALI
KALI may refer to:* KALI , a radio station licensed to West Covina, California, United States* KALI-FM, a radio station licensed to Santa Ana, California, United States...
temple in Chihandanda near Nagarkot
Nagarkot
Nagarkot is a village and Village Development Committee located 32 km east of Kathmandu, Nepal in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3,504 and had 655 houses in it. At an elevation of 2,195 meters, it is considered one of the...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Off-duty RNA sergeant
Nepal Army
The Nepalese Army is the army of Nepal and a major component of the Military of Nepal. The NA includes the Nepalese Army Air Service and is considered to be superior to Nepalese Police Force. Service is voluntary and the minimum age for enrollment is 18 years...
Basudev Thapa (वासुदेव थापा), 26, indiscriminately shot at villagers, celebrating at the temple, with an assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
, killing 11 and injuring 19 more, before he himself was shot by his fellow soldiers. The shooting was said to be sparked by an argument between Thapa and some of the villagers.
Shooting
While nearly 250 villagers were celebrating Mangsir Purnima at the Kali Devi temple in Chihandanda an argument broke out between SergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Basudev Thapa, stationed at the Nagarkot barrack, and youths from the nearby Pipalbot village with whom he had a long-standing enmity. When the youths began to beat him up, the allegedly drunk soldier attacked one of them with a knife. Yelling "I'll come back and kill you all" Thapa, bruised from the fight, drove off in his motorcycleCold Blood, Nepali Times (December 16, 2005) and returned to the barracks, where he armed himself with an L1A1 SLR
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
. Although he was off-duty at that time, Thapa was allowed to leave the barracks with the gun without fulfilling any formality.
After about half an hour, at 11.30 p.m., Thapa and three of his colleagues returned to the temple grounds. He fired a few shots in the air, before shooting indiscriminately at the people who were trying to seek refuge within the temple from the gunman.
Though many initial news reports named 12 civilians killed, the official report states that only 11 people were shot to death and 19 others wounded by the more than 200 shots fired, before Thapa himself was killed. According to RNA statements, Thapa committed suicide, though many witnesses said that he was killed by one of his colleagues, while he was still firing at the villagers. An investigation of Thapa's body found that he died of a chest wound that could not possibly have been self-inflicted, thus contradicting the official version.
Victims
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Aftermath
The next day the RNA commenced to clean the crime scene, deliberately destroying evidence, presumably in an attempt to cover up the incident. When a second rifle was found in a pool about 60 metres away from Thapa's body, questions arose if there might have been a second gunman.In consequence human rights activists and opposition parties, as well as the people from Nagarkot demonstrated, demanding an impartial investigation and denouncing frequent human rights violations by and severe corruptness and indiscipline within the RNA.
As a response the government formed a three-member judicial commission to investigate the incident and proposed to pay compensations of 150,000 Nepalese rupee
Nepalese rupee
The rupee is the official currency of Nepal. The present rupee has the ISO 4217 code NPR and is normally abbreviated with the sign ₨. It is subdivided into 100 paisa. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank...
s to each of the victims families and to bear the expenses for treating the injured. Further the RNA also established a probe committee to scrutinise the massacre.
The official report was released on January 3, 2006 and stated, that "Thapa committed suicide by shooting himself and no evidence was found of the involvement of any other person except Thapa in the incident". Further it was noted that Thapa had a history of indiscipline and obstructing work and that the leading officer of the Nagarkot barracks had failed to maintain discipline among his personnel. The report also recommended to compensate the victims and their families and to take care of their education and livelihood.
Victims of the massacre protested several times in Kathmandu, because of the passivity of the government in providing the compensations recommended by the probe committee.
External links
- 13 killed, 19 injured in Nagarkot shootout, Kantipur Online (December 14, 2005)
- Soldier massacres 12 civilians in Nagarkot, injures 19, ekantipur.com (December 15, 2005)
- Drinks, brawls, egos culminated in tragedy, Kantipur Online (December 16, 2005)
- We will help victims' families: Army Chief, Kantipur Online (December 17, 2005)
- नगरकोटमा नरसंहार, Kantipur Online (December 18, 2005) (Nepalese)
- Nagarkot carnage report public Kantipur Online (January 3, 2006)
- Cold Blood, Nepali Times (December 16, 2005)
- Darkest night (April 2006)
- Chihan Danda Carnage, scoop.co.nz (December 28, 2008)
- Collection of news articles about the massacre