"The court is facing difficulty as police have given different identities of Loniya in each of the four cases," said chief administrator at the court Dilli Ratna Shrestha.[break]
"The police have been complaining that clean chits given by the court to most of those involved in extortion cases causes low morale in the force. What verdict do they expect after filing cases without first properly investigating them?" Shrestha asked, and added that the Loniya´s cases provide a good example why courts are obliged to release those accused of crimes.
Loniya revealed his true identity to the court Tuesday while being tried in a case filed against him on July 19, 2010 following a complaint by Bijaya Malla. "We could not take statement of the accused as the identity and address furnished by the police did not match. Owing to such lapses, we have to be mere spectators as the accused go scot-free," Shrestha stated.
Loniya, whose permanent address is Udayapur-6, has been listed as a resident of Udayapur-5 in three of the four cases, and Udharapur-5 in another one while his father´s name has been mentioned as Pati Ram Loniya and Manoram Loniya in separate cases though he is son of Ram Lal Loniya.
Under such a scenario, legal experts claim, Loniya can be released on the grounds that he is not the person accused in the complaint. They blame the police, who themselves lodged a case of abduction against Loniya based on a complaint by Sunil Kumar Burma on August 18, 2009, of not verifying the details.
Chief of Banke Police Mahesh Bikram Shah claimed that the case in 2009 was lodged based on the information given by Loniya while in detention.
He, however, couldn´t explain the discrepancy in the latest case filed on July 19, 2010. "The police may have connived with the criminal and intentionally given wrong details to ensure his release which would also render the case as solved thus highlighting their effectiveness in solving crime cases," a lawyer argued.
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