Charikot, August 2 :

Soldiers of the Charikot-based Sher Battalion took 40-year-old Yama Prasad Gautam, a self-proclaimed Maoist leader, who was threatening passengers of a bus at Kharidhunga, Dolakha, by showing a socket bomb, under control last night and handed him over to police at Charikot, eyewitnesses and police said.

Following a medical check-up, Gautam was taken into custody at the district police office. This morning, he told police that he had joined CPN (Maoist) in December. Police handed Gautam over to the Maoists.

Meanwhile, the Charikot-based Maoists liaison office said that Gautam was not a Maoist cadre.