Kathmandu, November 24

Police today said they were struggling to establish circumstances surrounding the gruesome death early this morning of Dr Prabhu Prasad Joshi, 74, who was crossing the road in front of the Federal Parliament at Baneshwor at 6:09 am, when a heavy duty vehicle — most probably a bus — hit him and sped away.

Dr Joshi, who resides in Baneshwor area, was on a morning walk when the incident occurred according to family sources. He died on the spot.

When police arrived at the scene they found the body on the road in a pool of blood, head burst and brains strewn apart.

Police said the CCTV, including a 360 degree camera installed in the vicinity did not capture the accident because of poor visibility. Deputy Superintendent of Police Durga Raj Regmi of Baneshwor Police Circle said, “Due to poor visibility, none of the CCTVs had captured the incident clearly enough to identify the vehicle.”

Meteorologist Ganga Nagarkoti of Weather Forecasting Division, however, said minimum visibility in and around the accident site was not that bad this morning. “Minimum visibility of Kathmandu valley, was 1,500 metres this morning. That’s not so bad, as minimum visibility here could drop up to 50 metres,” Nagarkoti said.

DSP Regmi said police security at the Parliament office had first noticed the accident, but failed to identify the vehicle. “We also didn’t find a single eyewitness, which made it even more difficult to investigate,” Regmi said.

Baneshwor is one of the busiest areas in Kathmandu. The site was filled with people and vehicles within a few minutes after the accident, according to a person who had reached the site around five minutes after the accident.

DSP Hobindra Bogati of Metropolitan Police Range, Teku, said they had shortlisted a couple of public vehicles that might have caused the accident. “We have identified and taken control of a few public vehicles at Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Ramechhap districts suspecting their involvement in the accident.” Bogati expressed confidence that the culprit would be arrested soon.

Meanwhile, Nepal Medical Association condoled Dr Joshi’s grieving family and demanded stringent punishment for the culprit. Dr Joshi was a lifelong member of NMA.

Dr Joshi, an anaesthesiologist, was working at Ishan Chidren and Women’s Hospital in Basundhara.