Man Shobha Gurung, 45, and her 55-year-old husband Bardan, who were murdered last week, were killed for allegedly practicing witchcraft, according to police. Police discovered the reason after arresting three persons, including the faith healer, in connection with the murder case. [break]
Police, however, have not yet got hold of the main accused Megh Raj Nepali of Banghushri, whose wife Bimala was allegedly the object of the Gurung couple´s spell. Megh Raj had called faith healer Tukendra Bista of Gadhwa to his home on July 2 as medicines failed to cure Bimala for a long time.
Bista conceded to police that he had pointed the Gurung couple as witches during the course of Bimala´s treatment that day. “It appears that the couple was murdered after the faith healer said Bimala´s illness was due to witchcraft and pointed fingers at the couple,” Chief of Area Police Post in Lamahi, Hari Das Shrestha, said.
Megh Raj, reportedly, started to hatch plan of murder immediately after the faith healer´s diagnosis and ultimately killed them with the help of his younger brothers when the Gurung couple was alone at home. Police had found the body of Man Shobha some distance away from her house while her husband´s body was found hanging inside their shed on July 5.
Police solved the case after a week of investigations and made three arrests though the Nepali couple is yet to be nabbed. The chief of Lamahi Police, Shrestha, claimed that this was the first instance of a well-planned murder on allegations of witchcraft in the district.
The arrested trio of Ramesh Nepali, Jaya Ram Nepali and Shiva Prasad Chaudhary of Banghushri has been slapped with murder charge by the police while faith healer is also in police detention. The couple is survived by three sons and a daughter.
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