Biratnagar, April 23 Former deputy inspector general of Nepal Police Govind Niraula, who was arrested from Kathmandu yesterday in connection with the high-profile gold smuggling case for investigation, was produced at Morang District Court today. According to police sources, the former DIG was detained after it emerged that he had helped in the smuggling of 33 kg gold from Tribhuvan International Airport last year. His complicity has also been seen in the call details that showed he had made contacts with the kingpin of the smuggling racket, Chudamani Upreti. Niraula is the highest ranking government employee detained so far in this case. Niraula will be kept at District Police Office, Morang, where 22 others are also kept and are being investigated after seeking the court’s permission. After the smugglers tortured to death carrier Sanam Shakya in an attempt to get him to speak about the smuggled gold that went missing without reaching the target person, two other persons related to the case have also lost their lives. While Sanu Bam, mechanical helper with Thai Airways, died in a road accident on February 5, Premraj Chaudhary of Bardiya, Rajpur, who was arrested in connection with the case, committed suicide in prison on April 13. Sanu was knocked over by a tanker in the airport itself. Carrier Shakya was tortured to death on March 3. Following the mysterious disappearance of the illegally brought gold, police have launched investigation into 38 persons on suspicion of their involvement. Of them, 23 persons have been detained so far. The main person behind the smuggling, Upreti, who is known by his alias ‘Gore’, and 14 others, including his own kin, are in the police’s wanted list. They are at large. Of the 23 arrested persons, police haven’t disclosed the names of five persons.