Kathmandu, February 9

A man was apparently killed by a petty criminal who wanted to rob him in Gaushala.

Police have arrested Ram Bahadur Thapa, 32, of Morang on the charge of murdering Dhrub Bahadur Khadka, 57, of Tokha in Kathmandu, who was a permanent resident of Birgunj The body was found at an isolated place in Rudranagar in Gaushala on the morning on February 7. Regarding the incident, police had earlier surmised that a homelessman might have died due to extreme cold. However, circumstantial evidences showed foul play at the incident site. Following this, police had started to investigate the case.

A case of missing person filed by the deceased person's family also helped police investigate the case.

Khadka had retired from Rastriya Beema Sansthan two years ago. Thapa had killed Khadka to loot petty cash from him on the night of February 6. Thapa had met Khadka in a distressed mental state on the evening of February 6, according to police.

After spending some time with Khadka, Thapa lured him to an isolated place and smashed his head against the wall in Rudranagar area, where the victim succumbed to injuries. After Khadka fell unconscious, Thapa had planned to loot the money from Khadka's possession along with a mobile phone.

The accused murderer, however, came back to the same place on a bicycle at around 10:00pm and again at around 1:30am to check the condition of Khadka. After midnight, Thapa had smashed Khadka multiple times with his boots, which eventually took his life.

'Police have recorded the bruises of boots on the upper body parts of the deceased, including on the chest and stomach,' Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal, spokesperson for Kathmandu Valley Police Office, told THT. Police also recovered a CCTV footage which showed Thapa thrashing Khadka. After killing Khadka, the offender tried his best to conceal evidences by throwing away his clothes, destroying SIM card and changing his attire, all in vain. Police confiscated the mobile phone and purse that was stolen from the victim's possession. SP Rijal said the victim was attacked because the perpetrator suspected he had a large amount of money.

However, he only had a few thousands rupees with him.

Thapa has confessed to police that he killed Khadka after suspecting that the latter would complain to the police if he lived.

Thapa is a small time peddler and was once arrested on the charge of selling marijuana around two years ago.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.