The Royal Nepal Army (RNA) Thursday refuted reports that RNA soldiers had been involved in rape and extortion as claimed by reports published at home and abroad.
“Reports that the RNA personnel deputed on duty at Chisapani of Banke had demanded 1.8 million rupees from a person named Majit Maniyar is utterly baseless,” RNA spokesperson Colonel Deepak Gurung told a press conference organized in the capital Thursday. Gurung said news reports that RNA personnel had been involved in raping the daughter and niece of Maniyar is erroneous and baseless.
Gurung confirmed that a total of 3,500 Maoist terrorists had been killed and another 1,000 suspected to have been killed after the army began the security operations in different parts of the country. The number of army personnel killed in course of encounters with the rebels are 238, according to Gurung.
The army has so far recovered 13.3 million rupees looted by the Maoists during different instances. Similarly foreign currency amounting to 355 thousand rupees, 41 Kg gold and 296 Kg silver looted by the Maoists were recovered by the security forces in course of the operations. The recovered cash, gold and silver have already been deposited at the Nepal Rastra Bank.
Gurung said the RNA has been exercising maximum caution not to shoot down innocent people. He said five persons were shot dead in Kaule of Nuwakot as they defied the orders of the security personnel to hold back.
“The preliminary investigations have shown that the five people could be innocent but the final report is still awaited,” Gurung said.