Kathmandu, April 15

Police have arrested a man, who had been absconding after murdering a woman in a guest house room on April 5.

SSP Bishwa Raj Aryal, in-charge at Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, said Gopal Sharma, 22, of Sharada Municipality-1, Salyan, was nabbed from Gadda Chauki area of Kanchanpur bordering India on April 13.

Police had launched an all-out investigation after the 23-year-old woman, who was identified by her friends as Riyana Adhikari of Chitwan, was found dead in room number 203 of New Bhumeshwori and Arjun Guest House, in Milan Tole, Tokha Municipality-9 under mysterious circumstances. Her neck and lower limbs were tied with separate clothes. There was also strangulation marks in her neck.

“Sharma and Ahdikari knew each other only on the day when the latter was murdered. They met in Machhapokhari and agreed to check in to the guest house as Sharma offered her Rs 2,000 for a night’s stay with him. Both of them got drunk in the room and Sharma had an altercation with the woman over physical relationship. Provoked by the woman’s alleged denial to have a physical relationship, Sharma strangulated her to death and fled the scene in the wee hours on April 6,” SSP Pokharel informed.

Sharma has confessed to killing her in a fit of rage. Sharma used to work as a mason in Ramechhap and had come to Kathmandu on the day when he met Adhikari. After killing her, he boarded a bound for Nepalgunj the next day. SSP Pokharel said police had to make extra efforts to identify the suspect as Sharma had mentioned his name as ‘Bikash Oli, 26, of Ghorahi Municipality-1, Dang’.

Since her kin have not contacted the police to claim the body, the officials are having difficulty establishing the identity and other details of the deceased. “As per information we received from friends and some hotels at Machhapokhari area, Adhikari did not even have rented room in Kathmandu and used to stay in hotels with her clients,” he said.

Though MPR said Sharma was nabbed from Kanchanpur, an investigation officer informed that he was arrested from India and brought to Nepal. He is facing a murder charge and Kathmandu District Court has remanded him to seven-day judicial custody for investigation into the incident.