By Abinash Chaudhary
Dhangadi, Oct. 21: Police on Tuesday recovered the body of police constable Ram Bahadur Saud of a temporary police post in Jugeda in Kailali. He was gone missing for the past three days.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mukesh Kumar Singh, who is also the spokesperson of the Sudurpaschim State Police Office, said Saud’s body was found in the Mohana River at Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-12. On Sunday morning, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Govinda BK, who was on duty, was also found murdered near the Nepal-India border in Kailali district while his colleague Saud went missing.
BK’s body was found with deep cuts, some three kilometers away from his office. Both of them had left the temporary police station in Dhangadhi-12 on a motorcycle at 8:30 pm on Saturday evening. Their motorcycle was found three kilometers away from the river.
Both the police personnel were out of contact from 11:00 pm on Saturday.
“Saud’s body was found buried some 200 metres north east of the Mohana River where ASI BK’s body was found,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, police have arrested seven individuals (local smugglers of the district) for investigation, Singh said.
The arrested persons are Rohit Rana alias Parku of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolis-10, Suresh Rana alias Chor, Rajkumar Rana alias Gabbar, Ram Niwas Rana, Dalram Rana alias Tallu and Ram Gopal Rana alias Gopal of Ward No. 11. Police said that all of them were local smugglers. They were made public at a press conference organised on Tuesday afternoon.
SSP Singh said that a preliminary police investigation showed that the officers could have been murdered in a clash with smugglers along the Nepal-India border.
“We have intensified search to nab those involved in the killings,” he said.
A joint team of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force has been mobilised in the area for the same, he added.
On Monday, relatives and neighbours of BK and Saud took to the streets in Dhangadhi demanding investigation into Saud’s disappearance and support to BK’s family.