KATHMANDU: The Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police has stepped up a manhunt for absconding convicts. A CIB team arrested Bhim Prasad Goja, a man convicted of vehicular homicide in a 31-year-old case, from Duwakot of Bhaktapur on July 29. He was at large after the Bhaktapur District Court sentenced him to two years in jail along with a fine of Rs 1,000 on February 24, 2004. Krishna Gopal Koju, 13, of Garud Kundal, Bhaktapur had died on the spot when a tractor driven by Goja, now 48, of Taulakshe, Bhaktapur, ran over him on June 13, 1984. On August 11, CIB nabbed Bhai Krishna Khadka, 45, of Gagalphedi, Kathmandu, who had been absconding after being convicted of a banking fraud. He was sentenced to three years in prison along with a fine of Rs 35 million. He had taken a loan of Rs 35 million from Capital Merchant Banking and Finance Company Ltd, Kathmandu. Patan Appellate Court convicted him in absentia on May 12 last year. According to CIB, they have arrested as many as 77 absconding convicts, including eight women, in the current fiscal year so far. CIB Director DIG Hemant Malla Thakuri said, “More than 283 years of jail sentences have been awarded to 77 convicts and a fine of Rs 327.7 million recovered from them,” he informed. CIB records show that 23 fugitives were arrested in fiscal year 2010-11, while the number rose to 38 in 2011-12, 52 in 2012-13, 40 in 2013-14 and 77 in 2014-15. The fugitives arrested by the CIB have been convicted of various crimes including fraud, corruption, forgery, tax evasion, drug smuggling, human trafficking, rape, murder and kidnapping. They were convicted by the Supreme Court, Special Court, appellate courts, district Courts and the Foreign Employment Tribunal. CIB said tracking down fugitives is its top priority as they pose a threat to society. CIB carries out search operation in collaboration with Judgment Execution Directorate of the Supreme Court. According to the directorate, the courts were yet to recover more than eight billion rupees in fines from the convicts and execute over 100,000 years of jail terms handed down to more than 100,000 convicts.