NC leader slain

ITAHARI, Aug 11: A local Nepali Congress (NC) leader was slain by one of his neighbors in Singhiya village of Sunsari district Wednesday night. Kalyan Bikram Thapa, 41, chairman of NC Singhiya village committee, was attacked by his neighbor Ratna Bhandari with a Khukuri knife.



Thapa breathed his last while undergoing treatment at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) hospital in Dharan. Doctors said Thapa died due to excessive bleeding. [break]



Police have arrested Bhandari and his daughter-in-law Pushpa who told the police that Bhandari killed Thapa mistaking him for a thief when the latter turned up at their house in the night.



However, Thapa´s family has claimed that the killing was intended and well-planned. Thapa´s uncle Gajendra Thapa said Bhandari killed his nephew out of a personal animosity.



Two years ago, Thapa had stood against Bhandari at an assembly of villagers held to resolve a dispute involving the latter´s nephew Hari, who was accused of helping a married women elope with someone else. Thapa and Bhandari were not in good terms ever since.



Villagers, infuriated by Thapa´s murder, ransacked Bhandari´s house. Police have been deployed around Bhandari´s house to prevent any untoward incident. The NC Sunsari district chairman Ram Bahadur Basnet has demanded a free and fair probe into the incident.

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