Pokhara, August 26

Biswas Gautam, the main accused in the murder of local Nepali Congress leader Ramji Paudel was arrested from Deharadun of India some days back. Another accused Prakash Gurung was nabbed from Ram bazaar, Pokhara, yesterday night.

Similarly, police arrested proprietor of Bhairahawa-based Riverside Hotel yesterday. Dinbadnhu Baral at Kaski District Court said the court had remanded the three persons to custody for four days.

After Paudel’s murder, Biswas and Prakash had reached Lucknow through Nawalparasi and Rupandehi. Prakash had returned to Nepal two days later while Biswas had reached Deharadun.

Inspector Devi Paudel’s team arrested Prakash on Tuesday night on the basis of Biswas’s phone call details. Biswas was brought to Pokhara yesterday evening from India. Prakash had been living at Lakeside, Rambazaar after his return from Lucknow.

The other murder accused Rabin KC is still at large.

Earlier, police had arrested Ashok Gurung for abetting in the killing. Police had held Raju Ranabhat and Nepali Congress Lekhnath Municipality Committee Chair Rajendramani Lamichhane one and two days after the incident. Police have been interrogating them.

Biswas Gautam-led team was accused of killing Ramji Paudel on August 13. NC leaders Manoj Gurung and Narayanhari Tiwari were injured in the incident.

Paudel was former chairman of Nepali Congress-aligned Nepal Student Union in Kaski, as well as its former central leader.

Rajendramani Lamichhane and Narayanhari Tiwari were prospective nominees for the President of Lekhnath Municipality. Rajendra is loyal to the party establishment while Narayanhari is close to the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction.

Locals suspect that Ramji was attacked by Biswas as the latter was rooting for Narayanhari.