Calls Home Minister to resign over murder of Krishna Charan Shrestha

Siraha/Kathmandu, Sept 23 :

Rattled by the murder of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) central committee member and MP Krishna Charan Shrestha, party chairman Pashupati SJB Rana strongly criticised the security setup of the government.

Rana draped Shrestha’s body with the RPP party flag and addressed thousands of supporters present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, Rana said that the fact that the government could not provide security to Shrestha reflected the government’s inability to manage the security situation in the country.

Rana warned of staging an agitation if no action was taken against the guilty and if the names of the killers were not made public. Shrestha’s body was brought to Kathmandu on a helicopter today.

On February 2, 2004 MP Hem Narayan Yadav was abducted and shot dead. Yadav was the MP from constituency no 4. Mystery still prevails about Yadav’s murder. Former chairman of the Siraha DDC and NC leader, Chandra Narayan Yadav, was also shot dead while on a morning walk on June 19, 2001. The Maoists had claimed responsibility for the murder after two months.

All the murder cases occurred in constituency no 4 of Siraha. All those killed, including Shrestha, were residents of constituency no 4. However, Shrestha was elected from constituency no 3.

Meanwhile in Kathmandu, Rana condemned the dastardly act and demanded the resignation of Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula. “The fact that even a member of parliament has been killed suggests law and order situation is really pathetic,” Rana told reporters in the capital.

Senior leader of the party Jog Meher Shrestha said that since the police have found the mobile set and the arms left behind by the assailant, the probe into his assassination could be fruitful. “It could be due to political vendetta. But let met tell Shrestha was a sobre and gentle person who never had any issues with anyone,” Shrestha, who knew him closely, said.

If the government does not dither from going ahead and launching an independent probe there is no reason why police cannot nab culprits who planned the murder, he said.

The dead body of Krishna Krishna Charan Shrestha, which was flown in with RPP president aboard the army chopper at 3 pm today, has been kept at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) morgue. It will be kept at the party office at 9 in the morning before taking it to the Dashrath Stadium at 11 am.

“He will be cremated at Aryaghat in the afternoon after taking his mortal remains around the city,” Shrestha said.