Kathmandu, August 20:

An employee of the Chaudhary Group (CG), Bishnu Maheshwori, 29, committed suicide by jumping off the second floor of the police office this morning, the Valley Crime Investigation Branch (VCIB), Hanumandhoka, said.

Maheshwori was arrested on Friday following a complaint filed by the CG, accusing him of embezzling about Rs 6 million.

According to the Valley Crime Investigation Branch, police personnel were interrogating Maheshwori when he came out of the interrogation room all of a sudden and jumped down from the building.

A police official said police personnel severely beat up Maheshwori during the interrogation.

Maheshwori, an Indian national, was rushed to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) where he was declared dead.

Though police said that Maheshwori committed suicide, the man’s relatives and lawyer, Bishnu Luitel, said he did not commit suicide.

Earlier, a single bench of justice Balaram KC, responding to the Habeas Corpus plea filed to bring Maheshwori in the Supreme Court, had asked the Valley Crime Ivestigation Branch to produce Maheshwori in the court within three days.

Maheshwori’s lawyer had claimed that the police had illegally detained his client.

According to Luitel, police had telephoned Maheshwori’s wife in India a few days ago demanding Rs 2.5 million.

Chaudhary Group officials could not be contacted for comments.

A tragic end

• Maheshwori was arrested on Friday on charges of embezzling money

of Chaudhary Group

• He was being questioned

• Suddenly he jumped out of the building

• He was rushed to hospital where he died

• Relatives say it’s a cock and bull story

• Police had severely beaten him up