NHRN News Desk

Kathmandu, June 1: The Supreme Court of Nepal on Friday ruled that the government pay compensation to the families of 83 persons 'disappeared' by the state.

The court has ordered the government to pay a sum of Rs 150 thousand each to the families of three disappeared persons, namely Bipin Bhandari, Dil Bahadur Rai and Rajendra Dhakal, whereas a compensation of Rs 100 thousand each has been ruled to the families of 79 other persons missing.

Justices Khil Raj Regmi and Kalyan Shrestha also ruled that the authorities pay Rs 200 thousand in compensation to the family of Chakra Bahadur Katawal, a high-school teacher from Okhaldhunga, who was killed while in detention.

The apex court also ordered the government to form a high-level commission to probe the involuntary disappearances in the country.

Disappearances of people on account of the state often occurred during the decade-long Maoist insurgency.

The families of disappeared persons had moved the apex court on different dates since 1998.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently said the whereabouts of more than 800 missing during the insurgency still remain unknown in Nepal.