Bhairahawa Police have arrested seven suspects in connection with the murder of CPN-UML aligned Youth Association Nepal Rupandehi Chairman Durga Tiwari. 

Two motorcycle-borne assailants had fatally shot Tiwari at Devdaha-8 on December 19. He died at Devdaha Medical College during treatment.

Basanta Bahadur Chapagain, 31, of Devdaha-7, Buddhi Sagar Yadav, 27, Rajesh Yadav, 24, of Tilottama Municipality-15, Khemananda Bhattarai alias ‘Prayash’, 33, of Tilottama-8, Sagar Thapa, 23, of Devdaha-8, Angad Tharu, 28, of Dhakadhai-8, and Rishishwor Kumal, 28, of Devdaha were arrested  and made public on Sunday.

Police claimed that Manoj Pun, 29, of Devdaha-6, is the mastermind of Tiwari murder. Along with Pun, other accomplices Sombahadur Ale alias ‘Bikash’, 40, of Siddhartha municipality-13, Shyam Gurung, 30, of Bara district’s Gadimai municipalit-1, sharpshooter Raju, whose detail address has not been known, Tul Bahadur Sinjali, who supplied the firearms, are at large, police said.

Police have also confiscated three motorbikes (bearing registration numbers: Lu 28 Pa 2119; Lu 25 Pa 8441; and Ba 51 Pa 8073). Rupandehi Police Chief SP Rabindra  Bahadur Dhanuk said they will arrest and make public the accused soon. He said the murder was not politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the police said Ballu Tiwari, of the bordering Indian town Sunauli, is the prime suspect in the attempted murder of Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Kul Prasad Neupane.

A group of armed men had tried to gun down Neupane at his shop in Siddharthanagar Municipality-6 on December 6. Neupane survived the attack unhurt.

SP Dhanuk said they have been coordinating with Indian police to nab Ballu as he is on the run in India.

Police said Ballu was involved extorting money from various people in the name of underground outfits Madhesi Janamukti Sena and Pratap Sing Madhesiya, apart from other criminal activities.