POKHARA: Six persons charged in the killing of Nepali Congress cadre Ramji Paudel while he was returning home from a party meeting were sentenced on Sunday to life in prison while six others were slapped one year jail term by District Court, Kaski.

Ending a three day long hearing of the case, a single bench of District Judge Umesh Luintel passed down its verdict to send six persons to life in prison and six others to serve one year in jail.

According to Officer at the Court, Mohan Bahadur Adhikari, the main accused, Prakash Gurung, Bishwas Gautam, Raju Ranabhat, Rabin KC, Ashok Gurung and Sandip Gurung were slapped life imprisonment. All of them had been on judicial custody since August, 2015.

The plaintiff had claimed life imprisonment with confiscation of property against the accused.

Likewise, the court has also ruled six others to serve one year jail-term citing that they failed to report the murder and worked as aides of the accused despite having information on the incident, Adhikari said.

Bharat Poudel, Birendra Kumar Ranabhat, Rabin Chettri, Bhim Bahadur Ghale, Chandra Bahadur Thapa and Lal Bahadur Sen Thakuri were given a year in prison.

Likewise, the court has frozen property of still at large, Brajesh Gurung, accused of aiding the convicts.

Following Paudel's murder, his family had filed a FIR against the main accused and erstwhile Chairman of the Lekhnath Municipal Committee, Rajendra Mani Lamichhane.

However, Lamichhane was released from judicial custody after the government lawyer’s office denied proceeding with the case citing lack of evidence against him.

 

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