Police have arrested two individuals involved in the kidnapping and murder of Saroj Sharma, a local youth in Jhapa, and announced that an Indian national is currently at large.
The deceased, 33-year-old Saroj Sharma, a resident of Shivsatakshi Municipality-10, Jhapa, had been missing since approximately 2:00 pm on October 26. His car (Ba. Pra. 01-30 Cha. 7194) was found burned on the morning of October 30 in the Nichajhoda Wetland area of Mechinagar-13.
Police have arrested Sunil Sah (27) and his nephew, Rahul Shah (23), in connection with the incident. Sunil was apprehended on October 31 from the Rani border area in Morang, and Rahul was arrested the same day from his residence in Shivsatakshi-10.
According to police, Sharma had lured Shah by promising to provide him gold at a cheap price. However, an investigation revealed that Shah planned to rob Sharma, kidnap him, and extort a large sum of money from his family, according to DSP Khagendra Bahadur Khadka, Information Officer at the District Police Office, Jhapa.
On the evening of October 26, around 5:30 pm, Sunil and Rahul lured Sharma to the Dahijhoda Community Forest in Arjunadhara Municipality-4 under the pretext of showing him gold. Upon arrival, they immediately murdered him by striking him on the head with a hammer.
Discovery of the body and evidence
The perpetrators, along with an Indian accomplice, then placed the body in Sharma's car and buried it under the bridge of the Biring Revulet in Jhapa Rural Municipality-5. The body was recovered from the burial site on the morning of November 1 and sent to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, for post-mortem examination.
The suspects were identified after Sunil Shah's slipper was found near the location where the victim's car was found to have been burnt. The police utilized technical analysis to track them down. The joint team from the Koshi Province Police Office, Biratnagar, District Police Office, Jhapa, and Area Police Office, Jhiljhile made the arrests. Police have also seized a Tata company vehicle (Ba. 9 Cha. 269) used in the incident.
The DSP stated that the Indian national involved in the crime is still at large, but his identity has been established, and a search operation is underway in the Nepal-India border area.
The two arrested individuals have been remanded for 7 days in custody by the District Court, Jhapa, on charges of kidnapping, hostage-taking, and murder as the investigation continues.
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