June 5, 2009, Pyutar, Nepal: More than two months after a Dalit woman was severely beaten and fed excrement for being a “witch,” the woman responsible for her torture remains at large.

The incident occurred March 20 in the Lalitpur District of Nepal, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) outside of Kathmandu. Kalli Kumari Bishwokarma (shown below), a Dalit, was accused of witchcraft, attacked, and forced to eat excrement by her fellow villager, Bimala Lama.

The case was reported on by the Jagaran Media Center (JMC) a leading advocate for Dalit rights and a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP). When JMC journalists heard about the case, they traveled to the village with a human rights team and rescued Ms Kumari BK, her husband Chet Bahadur, and their 17-year-old daughter.

Now, despite then-deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam ordering the police to issue an arrest warrant, Ms Lama has fled and remains at large. When human rights activists, journalists and police personnel went to Pyutar to apprehend her, villagers ganged up and started attacking them. Human rights activists suspect the delay in justice is related to the fact that Ms Kumari BK is a Dalit, while Ms Lama has close ties to the local Nepal Congress Party.

“It is a gross violation of human rights and it will have a severe affect on the Dalit community, both mentally and physically,” said Dhan Kumari Sunar, a member of the National Women’s Commission. “Our prime concern is to ensure that the culprit(s) are put behind bars and to rehabilitate BK so that she can live a life of respectability and security.”

Sunar pointed out that police must apprehend those responsible to signal that such crimes against Dalit will not be overlooked and to decrease the likelihood of similar incidents.

According to the ‘Muluki Ain’ (Country Code in Nepal), if convicted, Ms Lama could face from three months to two years in prison, along with a fine ranging from 5,000 Nepalese rupees (about $60) to 25,000 rupees (about $304).