Police on Monday arrested Hindu religious leader Shreeniwas Acharya from Kathmandu on charges of inciting religious and communal violence by ordering his confidant to shoot him.

Shreeniwas Acharya was arrested by a special police team from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu while trying to flee to New Delhi, India this morning. The police investigation found that the shooter was the Acharya’s bodyguard.

The police team, along with Acharya and his bodyguard Madhav Chaudhary, 29, of Belchok in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan, has arrested Laxmi Raj Adhikari, alias Khan and Santosh, 32, of Gaidakot Municipality-5 in Nawalparasi, who had provided bullets and pistol to Chaudhary.

The District Police Office (DPO), Morang today made public all the three arrested.

Morang DPO Chief SP Arun Kumar BC informed that as the movement to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu nation was losing momentum, Acharya ordered Chaudhary to shoot him in order to entice Hindu believers for a decisive movement.

“Acharya had trained Chaudhary to shoot the pistol after acquiring the arms from Adhikari,” said SP BC, “Although we had suspicion about the incident on the day it occurred, the real reason behind it came to the light after Chaudhary’s arrest.”

The District Court on Thursday extended the remand of Chaudhary and Acharya, who have been booked for murder, for seven days for further investigation. However, the police are yet to decide on which case should Acharya be booked.

Shreeniwas Acharya was shot on April 8 in Biratnagar Metropolis-14 at around 1:45am where he had come to attend the Shreemad Bhagvad Mahapuran. Following the incident, Shreeniwas underwent treatment for gunshot wound in his chest and arm at Biratnagar-based Neuro Hospital for 21 days. Acharya had directed Chaudhary to shoot him at his arm, but sustained a bullet in his chest due to a misaimed shot.