Itahari, October 6:

A transport entrepreneur’s bid to burn his own microbus, put the blame on bandh organisers and claim insurance for the vehicle went awry after police smelt a rat. Yuv Raj Dahal, 41, of Bhadgaon Sinuwari VDC-5 in Sunsari district, tried to set fire to his own microbus (Ko 1 Ja 880) near the Sunsari river in district headquarters Inaruwa at 8 pm yesterday and claimed that the bandh organisers torched it. Police inspector Shambhu Pokhrel at the district police office, however, dismissed Dahal’s claim and said that Dahal first removed all the valuable items from the vehicle and then arranged for it to be torched.

Inspector Pokhrel said Dahal himself drove the decrepit vehicle to the river bank where he had deputed five youths to pose as bandh organisers who would torch the vehicle. In his confession to the police, Dahal admitted that he had promised to pay them Rs 25,000 for the job.

Dahal took the vehicle to the riverbank. As the youths were about to torch the vehicle after sprinkling kerosene, the police reached the spot and prevented it from burning. Seeing the police, the five youths fled. Police have taken Dahal into custody and kept him in the district police office at Inaruwa.