National
Police release sketches of murder suspects
Police have circulated an artist’s composite sketches of men considered suspects in the killing of Sharad Kumar Gauchan, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN).Police have circulated an artist’s composite sketches of men considered suspects in the killing of Sharad Kumar Gauchan, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN).
Based on the accounts of eyewitnesses, including Gauchan’s driver, police have released four sketches and circulated them to police offices across the country.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ganesh KC, coordinator of the high-level investigation team formed by Nepal Police Headquarters in the wake of Gauchan’s killing, confirmed the sketches had been circulated as per the basic rule of investigation when the suspects remain unidentified.
“There is no doubt that this murder was committed by professional and organised criminals,” said DIG KC. “We know that its kingpin is operating from international boundary. Our team is doing its best, using all the resources at our disposal, to arrest the criminals as soon as possible.”
While DIG KC declined to comment on which country did he mean by international boundary, officials involved in the investigation said that “the person is based in India”. Manoj Pun, the mastermind behind the shoot-out in broad daylight, is believed to be operating from areas in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur and Faizabad.
Loppchan Lama, who called multiple builders and police officials including Senior Superintendent of Police Rabindra Dhanuk, chief of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, to claim responsibility of the incident, too is a gang member of Pun. The location of Lama, who made calls from unknown numbers over the internet, has yet to be tracked.
Gauchan, 57, was shot dead by an unidentified group on Monday afternoon while he was on the way to the FCAN office in Anamnagar from his residence in New Baneshwor in his Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (Ba 13 Cha 4948).
Gauchan’s last rites performed
The family members of Gauchan performed his final rites on Thursday, four days after the shooting incident. The family members had been refusing to claim the body until , demanding that the government should first book the culprits.
However, following assurances from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Home Minister Janardhan Sharma to bring the culprits to book soon, the family claimed Gauchan’s body and performed his last rites at Pashupati Aryaghat according to Thakali tradition.
PM Deuba reached the FCAN office and paid his tributes to Gauchan by wrapping his body with the national flag. Home Minister Sharma and Minister of State for Home Affairs Shyam Kumar Shrestha and other political leaders and well wishers also paid their last respects to Gauchan. The Home Ministry has also pledged to provide security to the entrepreneurs.
“The prime minister and home minister have committed to arrest the killers,” said FCAN General Secretary Ram Sharan Deuja. “We are hopeful that the culprits will be arrested soon and justice will be done.”