The police also say Chari, who was supposed to be the last of the breed still roaming free, surrendered owing to immense pressure that overwhelmed his ´continuous political back-up´.
Chari, who is from Dhading and whose real name is Dinesh Adhikari, stands accused of two attempted murders. He has been at large after shooting at one Niranjan Silwal in Nayabazaar six months ago and police, who took hold of him within minutes of the incident, had been accused of freeing him in return for a handsome amount.
Chari was nearly in the police net many times during the six months after the incident but a high-level source said he was spared due to ´political pressure´. Among the self-anointed dons, all of whom are deemed to have political protection, Dinesh was considered to be close to the CPN(UML).
"He may have realized at last that political patronage would no longer come to his rescue following a signal to the police from the ministerial level," said a senior police officer. "So he surrendered. No one would otherwise have surrendered just before the festival of Dashain."
Some investigation officials even claimed that it might all be a ruse by the ´brisk boy´, the symbolic meaning of the nickname he earned for the way he operated--extortion, assault and networking for vigilantism. "He might have been counseled that surrender at the moment could be the safer option, in view of the threat from police."
It is also learned that police were recently ordered to shoot him at sight. "We would corner him but were asked on every occasion to step back, apparently because of ´pressure´. However, our latest mandate was to finish him off if he tried to escape," another officer said.
Chari is the fifth self-anointed crime don now under prosecution. Within the last 10 months, three absconding accused--Shukre Tamang, Raju Gorkhali and Chakre Milan--were arrested and Deepak Manange, the fiercest of them all, has also been serving a jail term for a few years now.
SP Navaraj Silwal, Chief of Metropolitan Police Range, claimed that the apprehension of Chari has put an end to the entire command structure of the chief ´gundas´. According to him, Chari finally surrendered after luckily escaping three intensive raids over the last week.
Chari surrendered at the Office of Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Ranipokhari.
Silwal said he will investigate the allegation of a bribe of Rs 800,000 at Metropolitan Police Sorakhutte Sector. Meanwhile, Inspector Dayanidhi Gyawali, then chief of Sorakhutte Sector who faces the bribe allegation, has been transferred to the Commissioner´s Office.
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