KATHMANDU, Feb 10: The Biratnagar High Court has partially overturned the Morang District Court’s verdict in the 33-kg gold smuggling and Sanam Shakya murder case, handing gold smuggling kingpin and main accused Chudamani Upreti, also known as ‘Gore’, an additional 10-year prison term, while reducing prison time for some of his accomplices.
A joint bench of high court judges Mahendra Nath Upadhyay and Prakash Chandra Adhikari delivered the verdict following regular hearings that began on February 3.
Earlier, on October 6, 2021, the Morang District Court had sentenced Gore and five other accomplices to life imprisonment for the murder, which is 20 years in Nepal.
‘Kingpin’ Gore in police net
The High Court, however, reduced sentences for several co-accused by 10 years. Gore’s accomplices Narendra Karki, Mohan Kafle and Bhojraj Bhandari had their sentences reduced by 10 years. They were previously sentenced to 20 years. Similarly, Madan Silwal, convicted as an accomplice for his supporting role in the murder, received a three-year sentence.
However, appeals by Lakpa Sherpa and Bhavin Tamang were dismissed, leaving the District Court verdict intact in their cases.
Gore and his gang are accused of running an organized crime network smuggling gold into Nepal via Dubai and other Gulf countries and then channeling the precious metal to India. Police investigation found that they trafficked approximately 38 quintals of gold between July 2015 and August 2018 but the smuggled gold have never been found. Therefore, the court ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict the accused on charges of organized crime.
The High Court upheld acquittals of other defendants in the smuggling case, including former DIG Govind Prasad Niraula, former SSP Shyam Bahadur Khatri, DSP Sanjay Bahadur Raut, Divesh Lohani, Prajit KC and SI Bal Krishna Sanjel.
Morang Police had filed a charge sheet against 77 people in connection with the case.
The gold smuggling racket came to light after the alleged disappearance of 33 kilograms of gold trafficked through Tribhuvan International Airport on January 23, 2018.
While searching for the missing gold, Gore’s group electrocuted his longtime partner and close friend Sanam Shakya in Urlabari-1 on March 2, 2018 to extract information about the missing consignment. The very next day, police caught drivers Mohan Kafle, Tekraj Malla Thakuri and Narendra Karki with the dead body of Shakya inside their vehicle. Further investigation led to the arrest of Gore.
The government later formed a probe committee led by Secretary Ishwar Raj Paudel, but the 33 kg of smuggled gold remains unrecovered.
