Former Minister Gupta released from jail

KATHMANDU, July 18: Former Minister for Commerce and Supplies and leader of Sadbhawana Party Shyam Sundar Gupta, who was incarcerated for abduction case of trader Pawan Sanghai, has been released from jail on Saturday. Gupta has been freed today after serving three and half years in jail.

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There was a huge gathering of his supporters waiting outside the jail to welcome Gupta. Gupta is making his views public at a press meet to be organized today.

Gupta had been the mastermind of the abduction case of trader Sanghai. Despite the provision of incarcerating a mastermind of any abduction case for seven years, Kathmandu District Court had sentenced Gupta to three and half years in jail on Jun 5.A single bench of justice Kulprasad Sharma had heard the case, slapping only three and half years jail-term on Gupta even though district prosecutor had sought a 17 years' jail-term for him.

His accomplices Akash Lama and Jit Bahadur Lama had also been slapped only two and half years' jail-term.

The district prosecutor had sought a 17 years' jail-term for Gupta - 15 years for being a mastermind and additional two years for being a member of kidnapping racket.

Sanghai, proprietor of Arya Pharmaceuticals, had been kidnapped from Kamaladi in the capital on December 22, 2011. Sanghai had been freed after his family paid Rs 8.5 million ransom on January 11, 2012.