An investigation on a stranded body recovered from Nagarjun Municipality-3 has revealed that the incident is a murder connected to a gold smuggling case.

Metropolitan Police Crime Division found the body of Gagan Lama, a resident of Parwatikunda Municipality in Rasuwa district, on October 2.  He was attacked with a knife on his back.

Police said the murder is connected to an 18 kg gold smuggling case. The precious yellow metal was smuggled to Kathmandu from Rasuwa’s Kerung border point.

In last June, two Chinese men assigned a task to bring the 18 kg gold to Kathmandu to Lakpa Gyalzen Tamang, a resident of Rasuwa Gosaikunda Rural Municipality. Gyalzen further delegated the job to three people—Chiring Tamang, Pasang Tamang and Gagan Lama.

When the trio was bringing the gold to Kathmandu, Lama suddenly went out of the contact from the rest of his friends. Lama, later, handed over only 10kg gold to the intended recipient in Kathmandu saying that he was attacked and robbed of remaining 8kg gold.

The gold owner and other people connected to the case consistently kept an eye on Gagan’s activities after which he was forced to return 2kg gold to the owner. But as he failed to produce the remaining 6kg, he was eventually killed by his fellow gang members, police concluded.