The arrested man had been released recently by the Appellate Court Biratnagar on ´tarekh´, or against a date for reapperance in person before the authorities.[break]
Bhaskar Rai of Madhumara, Biratnagar-11, who was eyewitness to the Giri attack, was abducted around 10 p.m Thursday. Kundan Rai of Biratnagar-2, who was with Bhaskar on a motorcycle, suffered a sword injury inflicted by the abductors.
Police arrested Devananda Yadav of Biratnagar-18 the same night while he was trying to flee with the sword in hand.
Yadav is one of the accused in the attack on Giri. He was released by Appellate Court Biratnagar on January 13 against a date for reappearance. Police lodged a case of kidnapping and attempted murder against him on Friday.
Devananda Yadav, his elder brother Shambhu, and four unidentified men had been waiting at VIP Marga, Biratnagar-12 Thursday night before pouncing on Bhaskar and Kundan. Except for Devananda, they are all absconding.
Bhaskar´s whereabouts remain unknown and a search is underway, said Morang District Police Office.
Meanwhile, Kundan, who has a 10-inch cut on his back, returned home after treatment at Koshi Zonal Hospital.
Kundan said he and Bhaskar were riding a motorcycle (Ba 15 Pa 2649) to a friend´s house when they came under attack and Bhaskar was then taken away.
"I dodged twice when Devananda attacked me with a sword. The third time, I was hit on the back. I pushed him away and ran, thus saving my life," he said, adding, "I don´t know where they took Bhaskar".
Bhaskar had made an eyewitness statement to police against Youth Force Morang in-charge Parshuram Basnet, Mukesh Budathoki, Devananda and Alice Gurung, among others, concerning the June 1, 2011 attack on Abhishek Giri.
Police suspect Thursday´s abduction was carried out to destroy eyewitness evidence.
"From the weapon used in the incident and other details, it looks like a murder attempt to destroy eyewitness evidence," said Inspector Shiva Shrestha, who is investigating the case. "We´ve not been able to trace the kidnap victim though a search has been going on since Thursday night," he added.
According to Kundan, Devananda and Shambhu Yadav stopped the motorcycle and snatched the key.
"Immediately after snatching the key, Devananda attacked with a sword," Kundan said. "I couldn´t recognize the other four."
Police suspect the incident was meticulously planned. They took court permission Friday to remand Devananda and investigations are now underway.
Superintendent of Police Pradumna Karki also suspects the abduction was meant to destroy eyewitness evidence as it was staged by one of the accused in the Giri attack to which the abducted man happens to be an eyewitness.
In a Dec 21 a news report titled "General date in abduction case" published in our sister daily Nagarik, SP Karki had said that releasing someone accused in a serious case on general date could allow the released individual to threaten and even liquidate witnesses.
"What has happened is just what I had warned against," Karki said.
The Appellate Court Bar Association chapters in Morang and Sunsari districts had jointly filed a contempt of court case over the December 21 report, claiming the report defamed the court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 25.
According to a police source, Devananda Yadav used to be close to the UCPN (Maoist). However, he later grew close to Budathoki, a goon from the Basnet group, and one Ajam Pervez Miya, who is close to the Nepali Congress.“
"He must have been working for Basnet´s group (on Thursday night) in a plot to destroy evidence in a sub-judice case," said the police source.
Apart from Bhaskar Rai, eyewitness statements have been given to police by Munna Bhagat, Shanker Chowdhary, Pawan Thapa and Kalpana Giri, who said the attack on Giri was mounted by Basnet and his men.
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