Human rights and journalists' groups in Nepal are up in arms over reports of alleged death in government custody of a top journalist-turned-Maoist activist, amid fears about the deteriorating rights situation in this Himalayan kingdom.

Newspaper reports have carried detailed accounts of the alleged death in government custody of Krishna Sen after his arrest Jun. 20, fuelling anger and recriminations against the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

But despite the ballooning controversy, the government has made matters worse by refusing to either confirm or deny the reports of Sen's death. A week ago, Prime Minister Deuba promised to give a detailed account in a few days, but that has yet to materialise.

"This is totally unacceptable," said Taranath Dahal, president of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), an umbrella group of journalists and writers. "The state has no right to kill anyone."

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a government appointed body, was even harsher in its criticism. "The government's refusal to provide clear information about Sen's fate underscores that it is not concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in the country," Shanker Shrestha, the member-secretary of the NHRC, said.

Detailed accounts published

The controversy over Sen's fate began over a week ago, when a left-leaning newspaper published detailed accounts of his death in government custody.

Sen, editor of Maoist-affiliated publications and a top Maoist leader, was arrested in May this year under the draconian emergency powers in force in Nepal.

The Maoists, who have been fighting for six years overthrow the monarchy and establish a republican state, have been declared a terrorist outfit by the Deuba government.

The emergency rule imposed in November last year is designed to crush the rebellion, but has also suspended all basic rights of citizens.

Sen's alleged death would have merited little attention had not the government fumbled in handling the issue.

Faced with questions from the press, the Home Ministry, in charge of internal security, passed the matter to the Defence Ministry, which controls the army. The Defence Ministry then passed the issue right back to the Home Ministry.

"Silence is dangerous"

Both ministries said Sen was not their responsibility, and that they knew nothing of his fate. That only fuelled the fire.

''This silence is dangerous,'' FNJ general secretary Bishnu Nisthuri told the weekly 'Nepali Times'. The federation says it has tried to meet the home minister, but with no success so far.

"It is clear that the government is trying to hide something," Yuvaraj Ghimire, chief editor of Kantipur newspaper, said. "If Sen was killed, then it is illegal and gross violation of human rights. The more fearsome thing is that, he may have been killed out of political connivance, and that is a reason for concern."

Several human rights groups have seized on Sen's case and have made it a launching pad to attack the government's dismal record on human rights in the eight months of emergency rule.

According to unofficial counts, nearly 2,500 people have died since the emergency was enforced, and scores more have gone missing. Local reports say that more than 100 journalists have been arrested since the imposition of the state of emergency, and that more than 30 are still in police custody.

"The rights situation in Nepal has been deteriorating day by day," said Sudip Pathak, chairman of Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON). "Both the security forces and Maoist groups have committed gross rights violation."

That has been documented by several rights groups, including the London-based Amnesty International, which issued a scathing report on Nepal's rights situation in its annual report released last month.

Extra-judicial killing

Most rights groups are worried about "encounters" — a term they fear is used to hide the deliberate and extra-judicial killing of captured Maoist rebels.

The suspicions have been fuelled ironically by the Defense Ministry's daily press handouts, which invariably say that rebels were killed in "encounters." The ministry refuses to provide additional details when asked.

Reports from the outlying western districts, where the army and rebels have been locked in battle, also speak of fear in the villages — fear from both the Maoists and security forces.

"The civilians are caught in the middle," said Dipak Thapa, a security analyst who recently travelled to the Maoist-affected western districts of Rolpa and Rukum. "They are in trouble from the Maoists who allege they are informers, and they are in trouble from the security services who charge them with being Maoist sympathisers. Many have been fleeing to other districts to save their lives."

The government, meanwhile, rejects the charges of human rights violations. Prime Minister Deuba told IPS some time ago that he had instructed the security forces to be extra cautious in its anti-Maoist operations.

Scores of complaints

"I have instructed them that no innocents should be hurt. If civilians are hurt, then we will punish the guilty after appropriate investigations," he said.

But so far, none of the security men have faced any kind of investigation despite the scores of complaints filed by aggrieved parents and rights groups. Many of these same rights groups fear that Sen's fate could be just one of those cases where the government does nothing to bring out the truth.

"The security forces should prosecute their suspects according to the law," asserted a group of more than 250 citizens in a signed petition made public on Wednesday. "The death of a suspect while in custody, whatever be the reason, only gives ground for more suspicion of the government's intent.". — IPS