Contrary to recent government commitments at home and in international forums, security personnel Tuesday barred a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team from meeting political detainees at a detention centre in Kathmandu Tuesday.

NHRC officials said a team of observers that had gone to the Pahara Battalion at Tripureshwor this afternoon to take stock of the condition of political leaders and cadres detained after Feb 1 was restricted from meeting the detainees. Security officers said they were ordered ‘from above’ not to allow human rights observes.

Dozens of political leaders and cadres including Nepali Congress (Democratic) leader and former minister Prakash Man Singh have been kept at the Pahara Battalion.

The commission in a statement later raised serious objection over the restriction from meeting political detainees.

Meanwhile, the commission also expressed worries over the police vandalism at the CPN (UML) central office and arrest of the student leaders on Monday. NHRC members Gauri Shankar Lal Das and Kapil Shrestha inspected the damaged UML office today.

The rights watchdog said it was seriously objects the police intervention during a program organised at the UML ffice organised to pay tribute to late Sadhana Adhilkari, a noted woman leader, who died on Sunday. nepalnews.com mbk/by Apr 26 05