The 33 centimeter tall 2.5 kg statue was looted by armed robbers from the monastery at Bargaon-5 after overpowering the priest and other attendants.[break]
Those arrested by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) are Narendra Lama, Kamal Lama, Lok Bahadur Edi, Shankar Shahi, Pratap Rokaya, Dhan Bahadur Baral, Karma Tamang and Kamal Rana. They were directly involved in the loot, the police said.
Meanwhile, Lokendra Shahi, Shankar Sharma, Nirman Buda and Kumar Lama were arrested allegedly for re-looting the statue and cash from those who had pillaged the antique from the monastery.
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