The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Friday that its serious attention has been drawn to Thursday’s Cabinet decision regarding the August 2015 Tikarpur incident and Madhes protests after October same year.

The government on Thursday decided to recognise the Tharuhat and Madhes protests as political movements and withdraw cases related to them.

Issuing  a statement on Friday, the constitutional rights body said the government decision to grant amnesty to the guilty of the dreadful incidents including carnage, vandalism and arson during curfew hours without conducting proper investigation amounts to promoting a culture of impunity.

Eight security personnel and a minor were killed in the August 2015 Tikapur incident.

“It is deplorable that the government is giving political colour to the criminal incident instead of carrying out investigation as recommended by the NHRC on March 27, 2017,” read the statement.

“The voiceless ordinary citizens will lose faith in the government if each and every criminal incident is given a political cover,” the NHRC added.

The rights body has concluded that the government move to promote criminal tendency instead of keeping the morale of security personnel high and providing security for the general public would further obstruct the protection and promotion of human rights. 

The human rights watchdog has also drawn the government’s attention to the need of taking punitive action against those found guilty of rights violations and called for providing appropriate compensation to the victims.