Dilip Mahato murder and aftermath: A chronicle of Nepal’s landmark environmental justice case

January 10, 2020, remains a dark day for Ram Jeevan Mahato and his family. His son, Dilip Mahato, was brutally murdered. He was murdered for standing up against illegal sand mining on the Aurahi river.

It was like a scene from a film. When he heard about people from the Churiya Mai Sand Processing Industry mining in the river early in the morning, he went to stop them. But little did he know he would not come back.