Rautahat, November 1

Rautahat District Police Office, which has been investigating the infamous Rajpur blast incident, submitted its report to the district government attorney’s office today.

Investigation into the 12-year-old incident had started after police arrested Nepali Congress leader and former MP Aftab Alam, who was elected from Rautahat Constituency No 2, a few weeks ago on the charge of burning alive those injured in a blast that occurred in Rajpur on 9 April 2008. While the report has identified Alam as the main accused, four others who are at large have been identified as his accomplices.

“We’ve submitted the report to the attorney’s office after investigating three cases against Alam: an attempt to murder case, a murder case and explosives-related case,” said DPO Rautahat DSP Nabin Karki.

“Once a charge sheet is filed against Alam on Monday, his statement will be recorded and preliminary hearing in the case will be held on Tuesday,” said district Government Attorney Khadindraraj Katuwal. The police have also interrogated and recorded statements of then inspector general of police Om Bikram Rana, then central-region police chief DIG Kiran Gautam and then government attorney Drubamani Gyawali, regarding the incident.Besides, statements of then inspectors Indra Subedi and Rajiv Basnet, deployed in Rajpur when the incident took place, have also been recorded.

The police are said to have got hold of incriminating evidence related to the time when the incident took place. While they recorded statements of the injured and the eye-witnesses, the police also have the reports prepared by the National Human Rights Commission and Informal Sector Service Centre, based on their monitoring of the site in the wake of the incident.

Among the blast injured persons whose statements were recorded by the police was Safi Mohammad of Sarlahi. He is the person who survived the blast. His survival in the blast was also corroborated by a forensic report conducted in Kathmandu, which has shown that the injuries that Safi received in his belly and chest were caused by a blast.

Despite Alam’s claim that there was no blast in Rajpur, police have also got hold of the tractor that was used to ferry the injured to the brick kiln where they were burnt alive. Police have also found evidence that showed that the tractor used to carry the injured was owned by the former MP’s brother Mahatab Alam. Police also have the statement of Samasul Miyan, father-in-law of Osi Akhtar, who died in the blast. Miyan, in his statement, has said he had witnessed the injured being ferried to the brick kiln who were burnt to death there.