RAUTAHAT: Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Sarlahi on Thursday issued a statement denying involvement of its cadres in the shooting incident at Ram Nagar Municipality where an opposition Nepali Congress (NC) cadre died and seven others suffered injuries.

Moreover, in its statement NCP (NCP) has asserted that the shooting incident which occurred during a clash between NCP (NCP) and NC cadres was politicised by NC for publicity.

“Enough premises exist to conclude that the incident was fueled by personal hatred towards the victim and was not political. However, NC has orchestrated a conspiracy adding political colour to the incident,” the statement reads.

NCP (NCP) also stated that ward chair Ram Naresh Mahato indulged in a heated debate with a service seeker a day before the shooting at the municipality in which Mahato’s uncle Ram Bilas Mahato died.

Likewise, the party condemned efforts to drag its cadre Shiv Pujan and frame him as the perpetrator behind the shooting while advising media personnel to disseminate unbiased information.

Mahato’s dead body still at the morgue as police hunt the shooter

Meanwhile, 60-year-old Ram Bilas Mahato’s body is still at the morgue in District Hospital as his kin refuse to claim his body unless police nabs the shooter.

Although the persons involved in the incident have been identified, they are still at large, according to Sarlahi Police Chief Posh Raj Pokhrel.

Law enforcement officers are coordinating with Indian police in line with a suspicion that the culprits have fled across border, Pokhrel added.