BIRATNAGAR: A family residing in Sainik Tol, Biratnagar Metropolitan City-16, has made a public plea for justice, claiming they have been unlawfully evicted and displaced from their ancestral home.

Bechkun Mandal, 46, and his brother Kailas Mandal accuse local resident Parshuram Sah of using financial and political influence to force them off the property. According to the Mandal family, their grandfather, Manilal, and father, Sitaram Mandal, had occupied the land since 1976. They were originally granted permission to live there by the original landowner, Narayan Prasad Koirala, in exchange for managing the Koirala family’s agricultural fields. Over the generations, the Mandals constructed three small residential structures on approximately 204 square meters plot.

The family maintains that they possess no other property or housing alternatives.

Despite knowing that the Mandal family had occupied the land for generations, Parshuram Sah purchased the plot from Narayan Koirala in 2012. Sah has declined to disclose the purchase price.

A protracted legal battle

Immediately after acquiring the land, Sah launched legal proceedings against the Mandal family, filing a lawsuit to demand the demolition of the structures and the transfer of possession. The dispute progressed through the District and High Courts before reaching the Supreme Court.

On February 27, 2025, a joint Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Til Prasad Shrestha, Abdul Aziz Musalman, and Tek Prasad Dhungana ruled in Sah’s favor, upholding his right to possess and utilize Plot No. 1800.

However, the court’s verdict included a specific stipulation: the defendants could not be forcibly evicted until their existing houses became naturally ruined or unlivable. Concurrently, the court prohibited the Mandal family from conducting any further maintenance, additions, or repairs on the structures.

Following the apex court’s ruling, Sah brought a bulldozer to the property to begin clearing the land. During the operation, two of the Mandal family’s three huts were demolished. A heated confrontation ensued, during which an unidentified group smashed the windshield of the bulldozer, escalating local tensions.

Following the confrontation, Sah initiated police action. Bechkun Mandal, Kailash Mandal, and his wife, Kunti Mandal, were summoned to the Ward Police Office in Biratnagar. When mediation attempts failed, the case was transferred to the District Police Office in Morang, where authorities filed charges of “indecent behavior” against the family members for allegedly assaulting Sah.

According to Pawan Raya, the Mandals’ son-in-law, the family members were released on bail on the condition that they return for future hearings. “Parshuram has been threatening us,” Raya stated. “He is demanding that we vacate the final remaining house. If we do, he says he will drop the police case and waive the damages for the bulldozer. Otherwise, he is demanding Rs 80,000 in compensation.”

The aftermath

The eviction has left a joint family of 15 people completely displaced. “After the huts we lived in for decades were torn down, we were left homeless. We are currently living under a temporary tent,” Bechkun Mandal said. “My brother’s family has been forced to take shelter in a rented room. Our home was broken, and then we were thrown into police custody. Why must the poor suffer this much?”

In response, Parshuram Sah maintained that he was simply executing a valid court order and claimed that he was the one attacked during the incident.

Sah asserts that he offered the family a settlement. “If they voluntarily leave the remaining structure, I am ready to give them approximately 102 square meters of land in Biratnagar-12, Daraiya, along with Rs 11,000 in cash,” Sah said.

“I have no desire to leave anyone homeless; I only want the court’s verdict to be implemented,” he added.