District court records statements of five accused

Biratnagar, May 4

District Court of Morang has finished recording preliminary statements of five out of six accused. The court had started recording statements of the accused since yesterday.

According to court registrar Nawaraj Dulal, statements of Mohan Kafle, Lakpa Sherpa, Madan Prasad Ghimire, Narendra Karki and Rajan Kumar have been recorded. “Though we had started recording statements of six persons in the first phase, statements of only five persons could be recorded by Friday,” he said, adding the statement of the sixth accused — Takraj Malla — will be recorded on Sunday.

Today, while recording his statement with the court, Narendra Karki testified that Sanam Shakya had died from torture meted out to him by smuggling kingpin Chudamani Upreti ‘Gore’ and his groups following the mysterious disappearance of the smuggled gold.

“After there was no trace of the gold, Gore got us — Sanam, me and Mohan Kafle. He tortured us in the forest near Urlabari and gave electric shocks. Sanam succumbed to electric shocks,” he said. Further, Karki, who was arrested from Biratnagar with the dead body on March 3 denied their hand in the disappearance of the gold.

So far, investigation has led to the arrest of seven incumbent and one retired policemen and twenty two others. In connection with the smuggling and the murder, District Attorney’s Office has filed four cases against 63 persons, including 34 who have been absconding.

Gore and his group had managed to smuggle as much as 38 tonnes of gold in the past three years.