An unidentified group murdered a hotel entrepreneur at Kaluwapur Bazaar in Kanchanpur on Sunday night.

Thirty-eight-year-old Damodar Awasthi, the proprietor of New Baitadi Hotel and Restaurant, was found dead inside the hotel with his throat slit, said police. The motive behind the murder was not immediately known.

The locals found Awasthi, a permanent resident of Jhalari Pipaladi Municipality-11, dead inside the hotel as they searched him after the hotel remained closed till the late morning.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Kedar Khanal said that they had launched an investigation into the case, taking some suspicious people under control. Meanwhile, the local business community staged a demonstration on the East-West Highway for half an hour in protest of the killing. They demanded an immediate arrest of the murderers and regulate the liquor sales in the district.

Man hacked to death

TERHATHUM: A man was hacked to death following a dispute over the maintenance of a drinking water project at Sankranti VDC in the district on Monday.

Ramesh Kandawa, 33, of Thoklung-3 was assaulted with a khukuri by Padam Pandhak, 45, of Sablakhu in Taplejung district. Critically injured Kandawa died while undergoing treatment at Panchthar District Hospital, police said. The accused is at large.