The suspects held in connection with the 33 kg gold smuggling case and the murder of Sanam Shakya, an alleged smuggler, have changed their statements in the Morang District Court. The court had started recording the suspects’ statement from Thursday,

Legal practitioner and Chairman of the Morang Bar Association Gyanendra Thapa said that the statements of the accused that they gave to the police during interrogation and at the court are different now. “The statements that the accused gave to the police seem to be different than the ones that said at the court,” said Thapa.

Until Sunday, Morang District Court has recorded the statements of 15 of 30 suspects arrested in connection to the murder of Shakya the case.

On Wednesday, the District Attorney’s Office (DAO) filed a charge sheet against all 63 suspects, recommending Rs17 billion and Rs18 million in fines in line with the report prepared by a high-level committee and investigation carried out by the Morang District Police Office.

According to a report presented by the high-level committee headed by Joint-secretary Ishwor Poudel,  Chudamani Upreti aka Gore, the alleged mastermind of gold smuggling, and his accomplices had smuggled 3,999.6 kg gold since July 2015. The DAO has filed such charges as organised crime, murder, abduction and hostage against the accused.

Thirty-three suspects, including Upreti and SSP Shyam Bahadur Khatri are still on the run. Police claimed of deploying special security teams to nab the absconding suspects.

Former Deputy Inspector General Govinda Niraula, Senior Superintendent of Police Dibesh Lohani, Superintendent of Police Bikashraj Khanal, Deputy Superintendent of Police duo Prajit KC and Sanjaya Raut, Sub-inspector Balkrishna Sanjel and Police Constable Bishnu Khadka and four employees of the Nepal Airlines Corporation have been taken into custody in connection with the case.

The 33 kg gold smuggled through the Tribhuvan International Airport had mysteriously disappeared from Kathmandu before reaching its intended destination. The smuggling case drew much public attention following the murder of Shakya, a native of Urlabari, Morang on March 2