Bara, March 8

Police today arrested and made public the main accused in Bara’s journalist Birendra Sah’s murder. Sah was murdered 12 years ago.

Police had nabbed Narendra Kumar Faujadar, 51, of Baragadhi Rural Municipality at 2:00am today. Organising a press meet on the premises of the district police office, police made public Faujadar. Acting on a tip-off, a police team deployed from District Police Office, Bara, had surrounded his hideout in the village and taken him under control.

Police had opened four rounds of fire in the air after family members and locals protested Faujadar’s arrest. “He will be produced before District Court, Bara, after completing all procedures,” said SP Krishna Prasad Pangeni.

Sah, a local reporter of Avenues TV, was kidnapped from local Pipara Bazaar by the then CPN-Maoist cadres and shot dead in the forest of Tangiyabasti on 5 October 2007. Sah’s body that was buried in the forest was recovered 34 days later.

Police have already nabbed Manejar Giri and Ramekabal Sahani, who were also involved in Sah’s murder. Giri was held in October 2008 while Sahani on 5 January 2009. The court had slapped life term on both of them and confiscated their property. They are doing their time in the jail. Other accused in the murder —  Hareram Patel and Lal Bahadur Chaudhary — are still absconding. According to District Police Office, Faujadar is also facing robbery charges, apart from the murder charge. Police said eight people, including Faujadar had barged into the house of Dipendra Prasad Yadav and robbed him at the gunpoint.

Killing of Sah had drawn vehement criticism from all corners as the incident had happened after the Maoists joined the mainstream politics following peace process.

Following the incident, Bara’s journalists had launched agitation for a month. Family members, journalists and human rights activists had demanded for the arrest of the main accused in Sah’s killing.