Nepali Times
From The Nepali Press
Eyewitness account



It all started when a group of people came to the office seeking help to store the passports which they had found during the attacks on the manpower agencies. They said Kantipur was safer than the police station. We immediately offered our help. The crowd started to grow as they entered the premises one by one to offer passports they had found. In the middle of all this, someone shouted that there was a manpower agent in the crowd. The man was beaten mercilessly by the crowd, and when Kantipur tried to intervene, they started attacking the media house after they were provoked by a group of people whose only intention was to destroy Kantipur.
I was hit by a brick and despite my injured state, climbed over the fence behind the office canteen to reach the ward police office. One policeman had seen everything and was just standing on the office roof with folded arms, while his colleague was watching the attack without much interest in doing anything. The police were just watching the events right under their noses. It was clear that they had received orders from superiors not to get involved.

I tried in vain to get help from them to stop the attack. Some showed restraint and there were many young ones who were trying to calm things down but they were constantly being provoked by a small group of hired men. I went to the Kathmandu Post editor's house, and from there we contacted almost everyone in the security force for two hours and eventually gave up. Our only hope now was the curfew, which also took several hours and came too late.

For the first time, we felt that we were not able to defend ourselves in the media house that had been fearlessly reporting all the injustices around the country. We watched helplessly as the mob smashed office windows, vandalised vehicles and were on their way to Kantipur Television where the anchor was saying live that the station may have to stop broadcasting at any time.

Kantipur staff were forced to fight against the mob to defend their office before the army finally came to our rescue. We still have no answer from the government as to why they did not immediately mobilise the police force. No government in this country's history has ever been as indifferent as this one.


LATEST ISSUE
638
(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


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