Public prosecutors had charge-sheeted Paras as per the Muluki Aain and the Public Offence Act 2018 BS claiming he had abused and threatened people in a public place. [break]
However, the charge-sheet completely omitted the alleged details of the incident -- that Paras had fired bullets with an unlicensed pistol. The charge-sheet mentioned that Paras in his statements to public prosecutors only admitted having an altercation with Rubel Chaudhary at Tiger Tops Hotel on Saturday midnight.
After his release from custody, Paras left for Pokhara, where he has been staying at Fishtail Lodge. Sources close to him told Republica that he would speak to the media after returning to the capital on Saturday.
According to Hari Sigdel, a non-gazetted officer involved in documenting the case, files of both sides were amended time and again before the hearing at the office of the Chief District Officer.
All ten counsels for Paras held that he had an argument with Rubel Chaudhary after the latter misbehaved deriding the former´s nationality and family. “I could not tolerate insulting remarks by a foreign national regarding my nationality,” reads Paras´ statement.
Paras also stated in his statement that he did not fire any weapon. The statement was supported by lack of circumstantial evidence.
Rubel, the son-in-law of Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, had also changed his version about the incident in his statement to the police. He mentioned that he heard the sound of firing but did not see if Shah possessed any weapon.
That Rubel did not bother to lodge an FIR and the case was registered based on the police report also apparently helped Paras turn the tables in his favor. His counsels questioned the validity of the case itself.
Moreover, Rubel reportedly did not demand in his statement that Shah be punished.
Chief District Officer (CDO) Basanta Raj Gautam has asked Paras to appear at his office on March 3, 2011.
Release drama
Supporters of the former crown prince Paras Shah staged demonstrations since early morning and even escorted Paras Shah to the District Administration Office (DAO) in Chitwan on Thursday afternoon.
Shah was taken to the DAO at 3:30 PM in a Jeep (BA.8.Cha 3711). The hearing spanned for only a little over an hour. Unruffled and smiling, Paras greeted his supporters waving his hands from inside the vehicle.
While exiting the DAO office, he said he would address the media at his residence Nirmal Niwas in the capital. “I thank you all,” he said.
According to his counsel Shiva Pandey, he had instead asked his aides to provide copies of his case file to the media persons present there. “Give one to me also so that I can talk to the media later in Kathmandu,” Pandey quoted him as saying.
According to officials, Shah would have to appear before the CDO at the fixed date himself as the case lodged by the government does not offer the defendant the privilege to have a proxy.
Prohibition on mass gatherings
Following Shah´s release, District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu on Friday evening declared several places in the capital as “prohibited areas” to be effective for an indefinite period. According to the DAO notice, mass gatherings are prohibited in areas surrounding Singha Durbar, Constituent Assembly building, Prime Minister´s official residence in Baluwatar and the offices of the president and vice-president.
Paras in Pokhara
Former crown prince Paras Shah has claimed that he was not arrested by the police but went to Chitwan on his own.
After arriving here on a chartered helicopter following his release from Chitwan, he said: “I am ready to go anywhere with the police as many times as needed if it is for people and the nation. I went there upon request of the government.”
Asked why he returned to Pokhara instead of heading for the capital, he said: “Before leaving for Pokhara in a helicopter that I hired myself, I had told my people that I would return from Chitwan.”
Shah was welcomed by his supporters in Pokhara.
(Chandni Hamal and Ramesh Paudel contributed to this report from Chitwan and Manoj Adhikari from Pokhara).
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