Kathmandu, September 13

A person was shot at and arrested from Goldhunga for allegedly unleashing extortion terror.

A special team deployed from Metropolitan Police Crime Division opened fire at Sajan Gurung alias Najok of Dhading district as he tried to run away after seeing police, instead of turning himself in. Karjan Gurung, one of his accomplices, was also arrested.

MPCD In-charge Senior Superintendent of Police Sahakul Thapa said two bullets had hit Sajan below the knee of the left leg and was undergoing treatment at the National Trauma Centre.

He was out of danger, according to police.

Acting on a complaint lodged with police, MPCD had been trying to track Sajan’s whereabouts in Kathmandu for the past few weeks. Police detected Sajan’s location in Goldhunga this afternoon and deployed the special team to the site.

He was spotted in Goldhunga-based Fulbari Cafe and the police ordered him to surrender, to investigate his involvement in extortion cases.

“But he refused to surrender and tried to flee the scene by attacking the cops. Police opened fire in self-defence,” SSP Thapa said. Officials said Sajan had also issued death threats to a high-level police  official. Metropolitan Police Range had retrieved an audio clip related to the threats.

Sajan was found involved in many extortion cases and he was also accused of issuing threats to businessmen and high-profile people to boost his bargaining power. Officials said they would launch further investigation to establish if Sajan had any connection with Samirman Singh Basnet, the prime accused in the murder of construction entrepreneur Sharad Kumar Gauchan. Basent, who is languishing in the Central Jail, is said to be operating extortion racket from behind bars.

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police had recently arrested Naresh Thapa, younger brother of Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa, for his alleged collusion with Basnet to extort money from businesspersons.