KATHMANDU, MAY 6

Suspended Nepali Congress lawmaker Aftab Alam, who has been indicted in murder and causing explosion in Rautahat district, will have to remain in judicial custody till the final adjudication of his case.

A division bench of Supreme Court justices Sushmalata Mathema and Nahakul Subedi endorsed the lower court's decision to send Alam to judicial custody.

In November 2019, the Rautahat District Administration Court had decided to send Alam to judicial custody.

He had challenged the lower court's order at the Birgunj bench of the High Court but that court had also endorsed the lower court's order.

Alam faces charges of murder and causing explosion in Rautahat's Rajpur 14 years ago.

He has been charged with killing 18 persons by dumping them in a brick kiln on the eve of the first Constituent Assembly election.

All the 18 persons were injured when a bomb they were making, allegedly at the behest of Alam, went off. Cases of murder, attempted murder, and causing explosion were filed against Alam in the district court.

The Office of District Attorney, Rautahat, had filed charges against Alam and 10 others, seeking life term or imprisonment till death, along with confiscation of Alam's property.

Alam was charged with employing people to make bombs at his home with the intention of capturing booths during the first Constituent Assembly election.

Oshi Akhtar and Trilok Pratap Singh of Yamunamai Rural Municipality were critically injured when a bomb they were making accidentally went off on the eve of polls on 9 April 2008. Akhtar and Trilok Pratap Singh were among those killed when they were dumped in a brick kiln.

On 21 April 2008, Singh's father Shreenarayan Singh and Akhtar's mother Ruksana Khatun filed an FIR against Alam, his younger brother Mahtab Alam and two others, accusing them of murdering their kin by dumping them in a brick kiln.

Rautahat District Attorney's Office had initially decided not to proceed with the case against Alam and others. After that, Shreenarayan moved the Supreme Court against the decision of the District Attorney's Office.

A joint bench of SC justices Sushila Karki and Bharat Bahadur Karki directed district police to investigate the incident on 29 May 2012.

Victims' kin registered a contempt of court case against Rautahat District Police Office four years later, alleging that the police didn't investigate the case properly.

It was only after the Supreme Court wrote to the Rautahat District Police Office to investigate the incident on 22 March 2019, police swung into action and arrested Alam.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 07, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.