Acting on the search warrant, the Pyuthan District Court found Nandu Giri and Bed Prakash Shah inside the district police office, which had last week denied having arrested the accused while replying to the Supreme Court, according to Supreme Court Spokesperson Til Prasad Shrestha.
The court issued the search warrant after the Home Ministry, Nepal Police Headquarters and the district police office denied having arrested Giri and Shah in their written replies to the apex court.
Not convinced with the reply, Justice Min Bahadur Rayamajhee and Bharat Raj Upreti issued the search warrant in response to habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of Giri and Shah.
According to the habeas corpus petitions, Giri and Shah, both Maoist victims hailing from Rolpa were arrested from Kathmandu and Lalitpur respectively hard on the heels of the police post attack. One policeman was killed and 10 weapons were looted during the attack.
Search warrants by a court are rare. Court issues search orders in habeas corpus petitions when it knows that a particular detainee is likely to be in a particular place.
It is still unknown who was behind the attack carried out much in the way the Maoists did during the insurgency days.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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