Monica Piya, with scars of the incident on her knees, is understandably nervous while her mother Papala only has tears to offer. “She has been snatched away from the mouth of a tiger,” says Monica´s maternal grandmother Pampha Shrestha as the only words from the family in response.
This thought of the tiger, which is yet to be taken in control, has now left the Piya family of Machhapokhari and the heroic duo nervous. The kidnappers -- Bidur Gautam, 27, of Kasibati, Kavre and 17-year-old Ravi Shrestha of Matutar, Nuwakot -- who snatched Monica while she was on her way to Sourdeep School and fled on a motorcycle have been nabbed. But the mastermind is still at large.
“During investigation, they (Gautam and Shrestha) have said that they were offered Rs 20,000 each by one Ramesh Jargha Magar to deliver the child,” reveals Assistant Sub-inspector at the Balaju Police beat Min Bahadur Khadka, who chased kidnapper Gautam after he fled abandoning his motorcycle and throwing Monica from the moving bike.
The Maoist background of Magar has further compounded matters. Locals say Magar, who used to work at Sourdeep School along with his wife -- she still works in the school -- has been living under the alias Bikash Thapa in the Youth Communist League (YCL) camp ever since he left the school some three years ago. They fear that Magar, who was also earlier implicated in a motorcycle theft case, could never come into the hands of the police like numerous other Maoists who have been taking shelter in YCL camps after being implicated in crimes.
And there is always the possibility of a greater racket being involved in the case to milk an astronomical ransom from Monica´s father Kajiman who works in Japan. “This kid and the duo have already become target of the racket. So, the government should provide them security,” says the founder of Sourdeep School and Siddhartha Vanasthali School principal Laxman Rajbanshi, who felicitated the duo and ASI Khadka from the school´s side Sunday.
Rajbanshi also met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal along with the heroic duo as part of a delegation that also included President of the Guardians´ Association of Nepal Suprabhat Bhandari Sunday. “We demanded security for the families of the child and the rescuers duo, and also sought assurance that the culprits are not given any kind of political protection,” Rajbanshi reveals. Rajbanshi says the prime minister pledged security for the families and punishment for the culprits.
Thirty-seven-year-old Chhatkuli, a permanent resident of Bhandara-8 in Chitwan, has been living at Vanasthali for four years to educate his two sons while Bohara, 32, who chased the kidnappers on his bike with Chhatkuli in pillion, is a local resident of the area and works as a driver in a private firm.
Instead of basking in glory after their heroic deed, they fear retaliation from the racket and are not willing to divulge further details about them and their families.
premdhakal@myrepublica.com
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