The Khimti-Dhalkebar 220 kV Transmission Line is a high-tension transmission line that runs through five districts in central Nepal and has impacted more than 114,000 people. The World Bank board approved funding the project in 2003 as part of the Nepal Power Development Project (NPDP). The Nepalese Electricity Authority (NEA) completed construction of the line in January 2017. Affected community members, including Indigenous Peoples, Dalits, women, and other marginalized groups, have had various concerns about the project from its outset.

In early April 2016, the Government of Nepal deployed armed police forces to Sindhuli District to ensure opposition to the project did not obstruct surveying and construction activities.

On April 17, 2016, Shakti Sahanubhuti and fellow community members in Sindhuli District, Nepal, held a peaceful protest violently dispersed by the police.

Later that day, six community leaders, including Sahanubhuti, were arrested as they left a meeting with local authorities. While detained, they were threatened with criminal charges if they refused to sign a document pledging to not obstruct the project’s construction.