Bara, January 5:

A person accused of being involved in the murder of journalist Birendra Shah was arrested by the district police last night.

Ram Ekwal Sahani, 28, of Khopawa VDC was arrested with a khukuri from his house at around midnight. Sahani has confessed of his involvement in Shah’s abduction. “Kundan Faujdar and I abducted Birendra Shah from Umjan bazaar at 4 pm. Lal Bahadur Chaudhary was the mastermind behind it. I returned home at 5 pm after handing over Shah to Chaudhary. I am not sure what happened after that”, Sahani told mediapersons at a press meet organised at the district police office premises.

He said that he fled to India soon after the police had started search for the abductors and returned to Nepal after one and half years.

“I was not aware that Birendra was a journalist. We were sent for his abduction saying that he was a man affiliated to Janatantrik. I was an active cadre of the Maoists then. But after the incident, I have not met with any Maoists,” he said.

Sahani was arrested on the basis of a case filed by Birendra Shah’s brother. Another accused Mainejar Giri is in police custody for investigation. Other accused — Lal Bahadur Chaudhary, Kundan Phaujadar and Hareram Patel — are on the run.

“We have already started legal procedures to prosecute Sahani,” SP Madhav Prasad Joshi said.

Journalist Shah was abducted on October 5, 2007, from Pipariyadhodiya bazaar of the district. His body was later recovered from a jungle near Tangiyabasti in Dumarawana VDC on November 8.

Investigation reports of the Federation of Nepali Journalists and rights organisations had accused the Maoists of their involvement in Shah’s murder.

Though the Maoists had accepted their involvement, all the accused are yet to be arrested.

Shah was working for Avenues Television and Nepal FM.