National
Abducted Tulsipur trader Shrestha found dead
Police on Friday recovered the body of Raj Kumar Shrestha, a businessman from Tulsipur Sub-metropolis of Dang, from a forest in Salyan.Durgalal KC
Police on Friday recovered the body of Raj Kumar Shrestha, a businessman from Tulsipur Sub-metropolis of Dang, from a forest in Salyan.
Shrestha, 53, was abducted along with Rana Bahadur Gharti, who is now being treated as a suspect in the crime, on the night of June 9 while they were driving to Salyan.
Police said they found the body in the forest at Jhipe Lek Bhanjyang of Chatreshwor Rural Municipality in Salyan.
Senior Superintendent of Police Gyan Bikram Shah at the Rapti Zonal Police office said Shrestha’s face was unrecognisable due to injuries that were apparently inflicted by a rock.
Police also found Shrestha’s car along with a second car with an Indian licence plate at Kapurkot Rural Municipality-5 in Salyan.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of 28-year-old Gharti remain unknown. Police
suspect that Gharti, a resident of Harpur in Ghorahi, may have a role in the abduction.
Police have so far arrested four suspects in connection to the incident.
Superintendent of Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh said Man Bahadur Pun of Rolpa, Rugat Thapa Magar of Pabannagar in Dang, Abiral Mahatara of Tulsipur-12 in Dang, and Jama Pun of Ghorahi-14 in Dang were being held for investigation.
He added that three other suspects, including Pun’s 17-year-old daughter, Puja, were at large.
Investigation has revealed that it was Puja who had called Shrestha on his phone and invited him to Salyan.
SP Singh said Shrestha was accompanied by Gharti in the trip and the kidnapping took place on the way.
The abductors had demanded Rs 30 million from Shrestha’s family for his release.