Police on Friday arrested two suspects identified as contract killers Manaraj Gurung, 30, of Khare-6, Dolakha District and Pramesh Chauhan, 32, Phulashi-3 of Ramechap District, acting on the basis of the modus operandi of the crime, 18 investigations carried out earlier and statements given by eyewitnesses at different times. However, police are yet to nab the kingpins behind the crime who are known to hiding abroad and living in disguise. Of the two arrested, Gurung is the operator of the Salsa Dance Bar and Chauhan the operator of MP's Cafe Resort.
Hemant Shrestha and his wife Anjali, who were living in rented rooms at the house of Geeta Khadka at Ranibari with their seven-year-old daughter, were killed on July 15, 2002, leaving police frustrated at being unable to solve the case.
"Our investigations yielded credible grounds for concluding that the landlady was the prime target and not those actually killed," DIG Hemanta Malla, CIB director, informed the press on Sunday.
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The late Shrestha couple
After the case was handed over to CIB in September, the bureau started its 'Silent Search Operation' and began connecting the dots, comparing it with other similar cases.
During investigations, police confirmed that the modus operandi in the Ranibari murders matched that of the Goldhunga murder that occurred few months after Ranibari. Lilamaya Giri, the owner of a manpower company at Goldhunga, was found murdered, apparently by her own husband using the contract killers.
The two were paid Rs 600,000. After police arrested them, Gurung projected himself as the mastermind and they were slapped with life terms with confiscation of all property. But Gurung was released after nine years for good conduct.
The 'Silent Search Operation' found that the two visited Khadka's house frequently on the pretext of looking for rooms to rent. After the landlady declined to meet the two, they entruded into the house and killed the couple livng on the ground floor in an attempt to clear the way to their target, who lived on the first floor, according to the police.
"Their (Shresthas') small daughter, who was injured, was able to save her life by hiding in the toilet, and Khadka was not harmed as the killers were compelled to flee because of the noise created by the incident," DIG Malla said.
A polygraph test, comparisons of witness accounts and reverifications, sketches of the suspects, their way of using weapons and facial marks connected the dots. "To date the accused have not cooperated with police but we hope to dig deeper in the near future," Malla added.
Police suspect that one of Khadka's three alleged 'husbands' was responsible for the murder.
Gyanendra Pradhan, younger brother of Anjali Shrestha, said the latest move by the CIB team has assuaged the wound and hoped the prime suspects would be arrested soon.
