KATHMANDU: On the evening of September 9, the second day of the Gen Z movement, a group set fire to the Bhatbhateni Supermarket in Dharan. Bhatbhateni had already been vandalized before the fire was set. There was a long line of people carrying goods home after entering the supermarket. There were also just as many people entering the burning building and hauling out items.

Although local leaders and cadres of the major political parties actively called fire trucks and attempted to extinguish the fire, Bhatbhateni continued to burn for three days. After the fire was brought under control, on September 12, the skeleton of a body was found on the second floor of the building. Some time later, only the skeletons of three bodies were found on the third floor.

The identity of all four bodies has not yet been confirmed. The police have collected the skeletons and ashes of the bodies and sent them to the forensic science laboratory in Kathmandu for DNA testing.

DSP Bhishan Babu Rai of the Area Police Office, Dharan, says, “The identity of all four deceased persons could not be established. Although some individuals have contacted us claiming their relatives are missing, the identity of the deceased cannot be confirmed until the DNA report is received.”

According to police statistics, 12 people were burned, including four at Bhatbhateni’s Dharan branch, one at the Biratnagar branch, and seven at the Chuchchepati branch. Only the skeletons of all those burned were found. None of their identities have been revealed.

Bhatbhateni Supermarket has already made it clear that none of its employees died in any of its branches during the Gen Z movement.

Following the demand of the Gen Z movement, after a cabinet was formed under the leadership of Sushila Karki, the first cabinet meeting on September 15 decided to declare those who died during the Gen Z movement as martyrs. The meeting decided to give the families of the Gen Z martyrs a total of 1.5 million rupees, consisting of 1 million for compensation and 5 hundred thousand for other expenses.

According to the decision of the Karki cabinet, the 12 individuals who were burned to death inside the Bhatbhateni Supermarket building but remain unidentified automatically became martyrs, and their families would receive compensation of 1.5 million rupees each. However, as the identity of those who lost their lives by burning in Bhatbhateni has not been established, it is not yet finalized who, how, and when they will receive the amount provided by the government.

According to Under Secretary Rabindra Acharya, Assistant Spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government has already sent the compensation amount for all the deceased families to the Ministry of Home Affairs. He says, “The amount is being distributed to the families whose identities have been confirmed, but it has not been decided where, to whom, and how to give the money for the 12 whose identities are unknown. We are searching for information about the unidentified martyrs.”

According to the data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the death toll during the Gen Z movement on September 8 and 9 has reached 76. This total includes three police officers, 10 prisoners, and one foreign national.

Assistant Spokesperson Acharya says that the government will not provide compensation to the 10 prisoners and one foreign national among the 76 people who died during the movement, and the rest will be provided with 1.5 million rupees per person.

In fact, the ‘Committee formed to make the treatment and relief of the injured of the Gen Z movement effective,’ constituted by the government, has currently recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs to declare 42 people as martyrs.

The committee has recommended declaring the martyrs with a special name: ‘Gen Z Good Governance Warriors.’

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, further investigation is being conducted regarding the 12 unidentified deceased. Basudev Ghimire, the coordinator of the committee, states that the process of declaring them martyrs will be advanced based on the investigation.

He says, “The police are conducting DNA testing and other work to identify the deceased whose identities are unknown. We will recommend the declaration of martyrdom only after a detailed study.”