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>Businessmen have been forced to hit the streets again and again to demand security for their lives and a safe working environment. They protested and knocked on the prime minister's door when a trader from King's Way in Kathmandu was beaten up by Maoist cadres in March last year. They received the government's commitment to improve security. Despite the PM's words, the past year proved to be the most horrendous for businessmen. They have become prime targets for extortion and kidnapping. The corporate sector could not take it anymore after armed attackers stabbed to death Kiran, the wife of an Indian businessman Roshan Gupta, while seriously injuring him on Feb 29. Just two days before that, a prominent businessman Sashi Kanta Agrawal barely managed to survive a drive-by shooting. The traders are right when they blame the government that the understandings reached with the corporate sector have failed.
Not only entrepreneurs but also every taxpayer has a right to demand safety and security from the government. Obviously, as demanded by the businessmen, the kidnappers and assailants who have been apprehended by the police should be awarded stern punishment. If the laws are inadequate to punish such criminals to the extent of discouraging them from repeating their crime, stricter laws should be enacted immediately. It is imperative that the police be given broader powers to fight crime. They should also be trained to deal with the ever-changing types--and improving techniques--of criminals. Salaries and benefits in the government sector as a whole are poor, and this is an area where the government should pay attention to in order to improve the security environment.
However, it is not all the government's fault with regard to the security of business people. If the businessmen had refused to give undue donations to the Maoists during the insurgency, criminals would not have been so encouraged as they are now. Even now businessmen are not cooperating with the police. They do not report threatening calls, and they even try to hide cases of kidnapping. On Feb 27, the police arrested two notorious kidnappers Amar Tandan and Ram Kumar Pyakurel, but the traders who had altogether paid over 26.7 million rupees (US$413,312) in ransom to the gang did not disclose any information to the police. Under such circumstances, how can the police prepare a strong case against them in court and take action against them? All of us should be able to take a little risk to improve the situation. If not, the government alone cannot do much.
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