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Republica correspondent Amar Khadka caught up with Inspector Durga Raj Regmi of Ward Police Office (Ka) Biratnagar, who rescued Dhakal.[break]
How did you manage to rescue Dhakal?
It was 10 pm. We were patroling. That was when Khilajee arrived on his motorcycle. He parked the motorcycle in front of my office. I asked him where he was headed. He said he was headed to somewhere close. I advised him not to move around at night. But he said there was nothing to worry about. He said Rohit Koirala had asked him to come over, and then left. I grew suspicious.
I told Constable Hem Narayan Yadav to go after him. He came back and said Khilajee had already left on another motorcycle. Thereafter, I told another staffer to ring him up. Khilajee said he was having a conversation with Koirala near Sagarmatha Party Palace. I told the staffer to call again. He did not receive the phone. I grew even more suspicious. I left for the Bus Park with my staff. There we saw Khilajee running toward us. As soon as he saw us, he shouted for help. I held him and saw he was bleeding profusely. I immediately took him to Neuro Hospital. This is how he was rescued.
How was his condition when you rescued him?
As soon as he saw us, he cried for help. Shortly after we held him, he fainted. He could not utter anything clearly.
What could have happened if you had not rescued him on time?
I cannot imagine it. He was bleeding profusely. His condition would have become more complicated had we not immediately rushed him to hospital.
Is it not that the incident would not have taken place if you had prevented him from going there?
Yes, it is. I requested him to not go there. But, he trusted Koirala as they had acquainted each other long ago. I could still have stepped in before he was beaten up if I were told when I called him up. The incident occurred because he trusted Koirala.
How were you able to arrest Koirala?
Before I sent him to hospital, he (Dhakal) briefly narrated the incident. He said Koirala invited him to a desolate place where Manoj Rai thrashed him. And I, along with my team, went to Koirala´s house. He was still there. I arrested him. But, when I reached Rai´s house, he was not there. Had I not arrested Koirala the same night, he could also have fled the next day. As Khilajee was half unconscious, he could not divulge the names of all those involved in thrashing him.
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