KATHMANDU, Oct 29: A fugitive in a murder case who was issued a red corner notice by the Interpol this year has been arrested in Qatar and brought back to Nepal on Tuesday.
The National Central Bureau (NCB), Doha, in coordination with Interpol, arrested Gajendra Bantawa Rai, 38, of Mechi Municipality-11, who was issued a red corner notice by Interpol branch of Nepal Police on June 14 for murdering his wife Sharmila Tamang Rai, 48, in 2021. He was arrested with the purpose of being prosecuted in the case in Jhapa.
According to the Interpol branch of the Nepal Police Headquarters, Naxal, a team of police personnel from the Area Police Office (APO), Dhulabari, had reached the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday to receive fugitive Rai. Following the handing over of the fugitive from the Qatari authorities, he was taken to Dhulabari.
“The fugitive has reached the APO, Dhulabari, where he will be kept in custody until the hearing on the case,” spokesperson of the District Police Office (DPO), Jhapa, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Krishna Kumar Chand told Republica, “He will also face further investigation into the murder.”
Earlier, Nepal Police had conducted a search and arrest operation for Rai for his alleged involvement in the murder of Tamang on November 19, 2021. Rai had been on the run after the police started a search and arrest operation. The search operation concluded with the finding that Rai had ventured to Qatar for employment in order to evade persecution.