Kavre, August 4

After languishing for over two years in a prison in Saudi Arabia in a murder case, Ramchandra Timalsina of Kushadevi in Panauti Municipality-3, Kavre, has returned home.

A Saudi court had convicted him of murdering a Pakistani national.

The court had ordered him to pay three lakh riyals (approximately nine million rupees) as blood money to the family of the deceased or face execution.

Timalsina used to work as a truck driver in the Gulf country.

The court in its later verdict had, however, reduced the blood money to Rs 3.5 million that he had to pay by the end of August. He was released in the third week of July after he managed to pay the amount.

After learning of his plight, Kushadevi locals led by Mayor of Panauti Municipality Bhim Neupane had carried out a fundraising campaign for his release. “It’s good news that he has returned home now,” Neupane said.

Meanwhile, Timalsina has thanked all who helped him return home safely.

He had reached Saudi Arabia three years ago for employment. But barely nine months after he started working, he landed in prison on the charge of killing a Pakistani in a road accident.

Timalsina said he was falsely charged with homicide. The Pakistani national was killed after his car collided with his truck parked on the roadside, he added.

He spent 27 months and 13 days in prison before he was released recently.

While in prison, Timalsina had written to the then prime minister for help, saying he was framed in a fake case.

According to him, someone had intentionally kept a beer bottle in his vehicle to give an impression that he was driving under the influence to squeeze blood money out of him.