Several people outside the house who heard the shot managed to run away. The army then forced their way into the house and took 19 people, including Yuva Raj Moktan and his son, Leela Moktan, into custody.

Their hands were tied behind their backs. The soldiers searched the house, overturning cooking pots and breaking utensils, and found one 303 rifle, two pistols and 14 home-made grenades. An hour later the army marched the detainees to Dandakateri, about three hours' walk away. They allegedly made them stand in rows and shot them dead.

The RNA conducted its own investigation into the Doramba incident, and concluded that "the army only retaliated after being attacked first by the rebels." This was later contradicted by the independent investigation conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

A fact-finding mission conducted by the NHRC about a week later, collected forensic evidence at the scene. It examined 18 bodies (five women and 13 men) and interviewed witnesses. It concluded that most of them had been shot in the head at close range with their hands tied behind their backs.

On 25 September, the UN Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, called on the government of Nepal to "act swiftly on the findings of the Commission and ensure there is no impunity."

AI is calling on the Nepalese government to implement the NHRC's recommendations to conduct further investigations, bring those responsible for human rights violations to justice and compensate the relatives of the victims. In order to make the process more transparent, members of the army believed to be responsible should be brought to justice under normal criminal procedures and not before a court martial. AI believes a public trial would help to prevent further human rights violations and break the cycle of impunity prevailing in Nepal.

Source: Amnesty International.