Jha’s murder continues to baffle cops

Kathmandu, September 14

Twenty-six days have elapsed since the murder of former ambassador of Nepal to France Keshav Raj Jha in his house at Babar Mahal, but police remain clueless about culprits even after over the arrest of 30 ‘suspects’.

The August 20 murder of the career diplomat has become more mysterious and complicated after the release of three suspects — Sanu Kanchha Tamang, Aitasingh Tamang and Jay Bahadur Gurung.

Metropolitan Police Crime Division had taken them into custody for investigation into their alleged involvement by charging them with public crimes.

However, District Administration Office ordered their release on Rs 8,000 bail each, as police could not collect any evidence against them. Even polygraph test on the trio tested negative and their fingerprints did not match with that of sample collected from the knife used to kill Jha. They were arrested on Day One. Sanu was a house guard-cum-cook working in Jha’s house for about 10 years, while two others were part-time gardeners.

Jha was found murdered in his bedroom on the ground floor of his bungalow. According to police, he succumbed to excessive bleeding following multiple stabs in the scalp and upper chest near the right and left collar bones.

Senior Superintendent of Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, MPCD in-charge, said an investigation was under way and it would unravel the truth, no matter how long it took. “The trio were not given a clean chit, but were released on bail. Though the investigation conducted so far did not found them guilty, we will broaden its scope to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” he said.