As the Kathmandu Metropolitan City continues its crackdown on street vendors, a section of rights activists has suggested mayor Balendra Shah to ditch the authoritarian path and establish himself as a democratic leader who believes in the rule of law.

In an open letter to Shah, they claim that his modus operandi has given him a bad name as an authoritative ruler and human rights violator who refuses to abide by the law. Citing an incident from Wednesday evening, when a group of city police from the metropolis attacked the street vendors in the Sundhara area of the Capital, they have termed the act inhuman and cruel.

“The city police not only destroyed the goods of street vendors but also struck them with batons, seriously injuring some. The injured street vendors, once held under control and put in the police van, were subjected to abuses akin to mental torture and cruel, inhuman and humiliating treatment,” reads the statement. “We strongly condemn this criminal and violent incident. The rationale of the criminal act committed with the deliberate use of excessive force cannot be justified under any circumstances and there can be no legal and moral validity of this act.”

At least six street vendors sustained serious injuries after the city police resorted to baton charges to chase them from the Sundhara area at around 7:30 on Wednesday evening. The act has met with widespread criticism. The mayor, however, has defended the act arguing that his police had used force in self-defence, to protect themselves from the street vendors he labelled ‘CPN-UML cadres’.

Stating that everyone has the right to defend themselves, Shah wrote on Instagram, “…the woman you see in the video is not a street vendor but a UML cadre.” Posting a photo of a city policeman with stitches on his head, Shah adds: “... these are the photos of the city police you would never want to publish”, with an obvious reference to the media.

The rights activists, however, see his statement as an attempt to spread misinformation by distorting the truth about the incident and making an undue attempt to shield those involved in criminal activities. “Such strange behaviour and the tendency displayed by a publicly elected representative of the new generation has taken us aback,” reads the statement.

The rights activists say they had to pen an open letter to convey their message as the mayor had shut his doors for consultation with the stakeholders.

They have reminded him that he won the election promising to be a pillar to the people living in poverty and accepting the coexistence of all. But the municipal government is becoming increasingly ruthless towards the underprivileged people who are, in fact, entitled to the special protection of the state, they said.

Shah won the 2022 local elections with a thumping majority when the people from all walks of life voted for him hoping for better governance. While his administration has received appreciation for keeping the city clean, the crackdown against the street vendors has met with criticism.

The state authorities’ brutal attack on the street vendors on their heads and other sensitive body parts with batons and their subsequent inhuman treatment in detention is a serious human rights violation in the form of torture; and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that are prohibited by the Constitution of Nepal (Articles 16 and 22), the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 (Articles 167, 168, 183 and 191), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (Articles 6 and 7)and Convention against Torture, 1984 (Articles 1, 2, 4, 6), according to the letter.

The rights activists ask the metropolis to find the right option for street vendors on the basis of dialogue and collaboration, honouring the constitutional guarantees of socialism and social justice, and citizens’ rights to dignified life, to earn a living by doing businesses and their right to employment. They appeal to the Kathmandu metropolis to set an example for other municipalities in the country, pledging their support to the municipal authority to press the federal government to fulfil its obligations to eusure the livelihoods of all citizens.

The rights advocates have also criticised the federal government, saying that it was apathetic towards making street vending a dignified option.

Those issuing the letter include Kanak Mani Dixit, Dinesh Tripathi, Ila Sharma, Charan Prasai, JB Bishwakarma and Sushil Pyakurel, among others.