“It seems we will not be able to understand the case even to the same extent as Jamim Shah´s murder last year,” said a senior police officer involved in investigations. Nepal Police was able to identify some individuals including one of the planners and two gunmen to develop a somewhat comprehensive picture of the media baron´s homicide, though any purported links to the Indian underworld are still unexplained. [break]
Chief of Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hemanta Malla, who is heading one of the probe panels, admitted that investigations had been hard-pressed in terms of identifying the mastermind and motives in the case. “Prosecution of the accused is one part,” he said. “Equally important is to rebuild the case through intelligence. We are focusing on that.”
Investigations in the case have so far ended up with only peripheral findings. A MPCD team is dealing with the case single-handedly, with little input from other agencies. Around a dozen persons were interrogated and a couple of them are currently being held. But those who have been grilled do not seem to have been involved in the crime. They include staff at hotels the criminals stayed at, operators of motorcycle rental centers and others who came into contact with the criminals circumstantially during the latter´s stint in the capital.
Lately, investigative officials identified another Indian, Mohammed, who worked here with the already named Ramu and Surendra Duibedi to hire Jasjeet Singh to shoot Ansari at the visiting lounge at Cental Jail. But the new identification has not yielded any headway in the case.
“They were found to have used local SIM-cards during their stay, but the call details have not turned out to be of any use,” said officials. “The criminals have outsmarted us.”
MPCD, meanwhile, has prepared sketches of Surendra and Mohammed as described by Singh. Police had recovered a picture of Ramu during a raid at rented quarters at Bode, Bhaktapur a few hours after the incident.
MPCD is also in the process of verifying Singh´s finger prints with Indian authorities. Verification of Singh´s identity could be a significant clue to unearthing the inside story in the case, SSP Malla said.
Malla also said police were seriously considering a claim that Jasjeet Singh was the same person who murdered Majid Marihar in Nepalgunj last year.
Related story
CIAA files corruption case against Police Constable Ansari
