Human rights commission team turned back at police office gate while trying to meet Jwaba

A team from the National Human Rights Commission that went to check on former Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Jwaba's condition returned from the gate on Sunday after police did not allow it entry.

The three-member team, including commission member Manoj Duwadi, had gone to the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office in Teku. The team waited at the office gate for about 45 minutes but was not permitted inside.

According to commission spokesperson Tikaram Pokharel, the team had gone to gather information about Jwaba's condition and security. Commission secretary Murari Prasad Kharel said the constitution and law give the commission the right to visit and inspect any place of detention at any time.

He said that when he asked why entry was being denied, he was not given a reason. During the period he was held, Jwaba was kept in the chamber of SSP Santosh Khadka. Police had said he was brought to the office from his residence in Maharajgunj at midnight on Saturday because of a security threat.

Legal experts have questioned the manner in which he was taken from his residence and the legal basis for keeping him at the office. He was later handed over to his family on Sunday afternoon.