Kathmandu, October 10

Protest against the murder of Sharad Kumar Gauchan, president of Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, continued today with police yet to make any headway in identifying the culprits one day after the shooting.

Gauchan was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne persons in Prayag Marg, Kathmandu-32.

A press statement issued by FCAN warned that contractors across the country would stop all work until the culprits were arrested. FCAN also demanded that Gauchan be declared a martyr. “We request the government not to invite bids,” FCAN said, urging contractors to boycott the process ‘until justice is done to Gauchan’s kin’.  “Many other contractors are receiving threats from unidentified persons over phone and are living in fear after Gauchan’s murder. We demand that the government guarantee their physical security,” the statement added.

Police Commissioner AIG Jaya Bahadur Chand said police were inching closer to apprehending the culprits. Police have arrested more than 150 suspects for interrogation. They include a three-member gang with an automatic pistol, but police are yet to establish if they are the shooters.

A police official said it was suspected that Gauchan was shot dead for refusing extortion demands from racketeers. The operatives of Sujan Paudel aka Ramesh Bahun, who is languishing in Central Jail, and of Manoj Pun, who shot CPN-UML-aligned Youth Federation Nepal leader Durga Tiwari dead in Rupandehi last year, are prime suspects. The gangs are notorious for extorting contractors and businesspersons. However, Pun has allegedly fled to India following Tiwari’s murder.

Authorities across the country have been alerted to prevent the shooters from escaping to neighbouring countries. Despite the manhunt, a breakthrough seems elusive. A man identifying himself as Lopsang Lama, a member of the Pun gang, phoned SSP Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk, in-charge of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu and claimed responsibility for the shooting. He told SSP Dhanuk that ‘Gauchan was shot dead for refusing to pay extortion money’. However, the claim is yet to be verified.

Jhankanath Dhakal, assistant spokesperson at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the government was committed to booking the culprits and preventing such incidents in future. “Minister for Home Affairs Janardhan Sharma has directed the chiefs of all security agencies to identify and arrest the culprits at the earliest,” he informed.

Nepal Police has formed a seven-member special probe panel led by DIG Ganesh KC to investigate Gauchan’s murder and nab the culprits. Central Investigation Bureau, Metropolitan Police Crime Division and other local units are also probing the incident.