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Police arrest 3 in connection with Tiwari murder
District Police Office in Rupandehi has arrested three persons in connection with the murder of Durga Tiwari, the district chief of the CPN-UML-affiliated Youth Association Nepal (YAN).Amrita Anmol
District Police Office in Rupandehi has arrested three persons in connection with the murder of Durga Tiwari, the district chief of the CPN-UML-affiliated Youth Association Nepal (YAN).
DSP Mukunda Marasini, who is involved in the investigation, said three persons were detained for inquiry and investigation into the murder from Khaireni in Rupandehi district on Tuesday.
Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead Tiwari in Devdaha-8 on Monday. The victim who sustained bullet injuries on abdomen died during treatment at Devdaha Medical College one hour after the incident.
“We will find details about the incident through statements of the arrested trio,” said DSP Marasini. The investigation officers, however, refused to disclose names of the detainees.
The security personnel also seized a red Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle (Ba 51 Pa 8073) believed to have been used in the crime. According to DSP Marasini, the bike was recovered from Semarana, about 3km south from the incident site. Suspecting that the assailants might have been taking shelter in the vicinity where the bike was recovered, the security personnel sealed the area and launched a manhunt. A live bullet and a used bullet shell were found near the incident site.
Tiwari, 36, was attacked last year as well. But he had survived the attack, as he had managed to dodge the bullet then.
Police said they are also investigating into alleged involvement of Manoj Pun in the murder. Pun, against whom a complaint was filed in connection with last year’s attack, had telephoned some locals and Tiwari’s relatives, saying he “masterminded the murder”.
“We have initiated investigation about the phone call and his voice. The investigation will soon finds whether he is the mastermind or not,” said DSP Marasini.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Pun, who also hails from Devdaha, is out of the country for the past few months.
The YAN enforced banda in Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi, Palpa, Arghakhanchi and Gulmi districts on Tuesday to protest Tiwari’s murder. Normal life was greatly affected as transportation came to a halt while market places, business enterprises and educational institutions remained closed due to the banda. The YAN announced that it would continue banda in Rupandehi unless the arrest of the murderers.
Meanwhile, Tiwari’s family expressed serious concerns regarding police’s claim over the possible motive of the murder. The investigation officers on Monday said Tiwari, who was in brick business, could have been killed over some financial dealings. “He shared everything with me. He did not have enmity as well as financial dealings to anyone,” said Tiwari’s widow Renu.
On Tuesday UML central leaders Bishnu Paudel and Ghanashyam Bhusal came to Butwal. They met with the bereaved family and addressed a protest rally organised in Devdaha. The UML has termed the murder a “political vendetta”.