House arrest’ of Koirala, Oli and Bijukchhe lifted (5:13 P.M.)

January 22, 2006
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Within hours of the return of Their Majesties King Gyanendra and Queen Komal to Kathmandu, local administration has lifted the order of `house arrest’ of three senior leaders of the seven-party alliance including former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala.

(From left) NC Chairman Koirala, UML leader Oli and NWPP Chairman Bijukchhe (File Photo)

(From left) NC Chairman Koirala, UML leader Oli and NWPP Chairman Bijukchhe (File Photo)
Koirala was released in the afternoon while Nepal Workers and Peasants Party chairman Narayan Man Bijukchhe and CPN (UML) standing committee member KP Sharma Oli were freed in the evening.

According to Koirala’s family sources, officials handed over a letter to Koirala at around 4:30 p. m. Friday saying that the earlier order of house arrest against him had been lifted.

“Am I a free man now?” Koirala asked officers. “Yes, you are,” they said.

NC leader Koirala, UML leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, UML leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, K. P. Sharma Oli, Bharat Mohan Adhikary and chairman of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Narayan Man Bijukchhe, had been placed under ‘house arrest’ since Friday.

Family sources of UML leader Nepal said ‘house arrest’ against him had not been lifted as yet.

Meanwhile, a medical team from the Center of Victims of Torture (CVICT), Nepal –a leading human rights group– visited Mr. Koirala’s residence on Sunday to inquire about his health.

According to CVICT, the 84-year-old leader told them that he was taking medicines as advised by the doctors. “Except the tension one comes across when placed under confinement, I am feeling well,” the CVICT team quoted Koirala as saying.

The CVICT team led by Dr. Gupta Bahadur Shrestha comprised Devendra Ale, Rajendra Ghimire and Fanindra Ghimire as its members. The team will also be visiting UML leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and other leaders under detention to inquire about their health conditions, according to CVICT.