DSP shot dead

JANAKPURDHAM: A gang gunned down the DSP of the National Investigation Department, Dhanusha, Bishnu Prasad Pokhrel, in Janakpur municipality-10 on Monday. The gang seems to have shot Pokhrel from a very close distance, Ratnaraj Pandey, the chief district officer of Dhanusha, told this daily. — HNS

Indian aid for school

KATHMANDU: The Indian government has decided to extend financial assistance of Rs 23.6 million for the construction of a school building and boundary wall of the Shree Secondary School in Dhamboji, Banke. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed between the Embassy of India, the District Development Committee of Banke and the school on Monday. — HNS

Kidnapped trader escapes

BARA: A textile businessman managed to make an escape from the kidnappers on Sunday, a family source said. Manoj Mahathas, 28, a resident of Balirampur-5, Bara, arrived home from Bodasahan, India. Mahathas was abducted when he was returning home from Ghoghaldiya on April 6. — HNS

NC-D lauds UN move

KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress (Democratic) has welcomed the setting up of the human rights monitoring office. Issuing a press release on Monday, the party’s officiating president, Gopalman Shrestha, hoped that the UN monitoring office would be able to improve the rights situation in Nepal, where innocent people have been caught in the crossfire of the warring sides.— HNS

Call to free rights activist

BARA: Himrights has demanded immediate release of advocate Narayan Devkota, the chairman of Human Rights Protection Forum-Bara. Devkota was arrested a few days ago while he was taking part in a human rights activists’ campaign, a press release issued on Monday by the Himrights said. — HNS