One of the ways the Nepal Police are investigating is to reach out to criminals in local jails, who are of Indian origin and considered to have close links to Shah. Sources say high police officials have visited jails in the capital with hopes for clues from convicts including big names involved in different abduction, drugs and fake currency cases. [break]
An official who is a member of the investigative team formed by police headquarters said a preliminary conclusion was that Shah´s murder was orchestrated from within the jails.
Nepal Police are said to have been planning to use those convicts for help in the investigations on the basis of some success with this approach in the investigation of major abduction cases.
Nepal Police have created three layers of investigation with the central one headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rajendra Singh Bhandari under police headquarters.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner´s Office formed another team, led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Madhav Nepal. Similarly, Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK) has formed a team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kedar Dhakal. "We are working for the facts and will hopefully succeed soon," said DIG Bhandari.
Investigating officers have reached a conclusion that Shah´s murder in broad daylight in one of the busiest areas in the capital must have been carried out by professional criminals. Their modus operandi did not sync with anything that local criminals are believed to have followed, sources say.
Shah was shot dead in Lazimpat on Sunday afternoon by two masked men on a motorbike following him along a route where at least 500 security personnel were deployed for the movement of Vice-President Paramananda Jha.
"Professional gunmen generally carry out their jobs on a fixed date and are confident enough to elude any kind of security challenge," said a senior police official looking into the case. He also claimed that the group involved in the murder has been tentatively identified and must have stayed in Kathmandu for weeks in the run-up to the incident.
According to a confidential report collected by police, the gang that murdered Shah had actually targeted another person, who, however, was arrested before they could reach that person. But officials requested not to disclose further details in this connection as investigations were going on.
Meanwhile, someone claiming to be Bharat Nepali from India called the office of Cable Television Association (CTA) in New Road on Monday morning, taking responsibility for the incident. "Our guard received the phone," said CTA President Manoraja Ranjit.
Intelligence sources said that Nepali had been a close aide to Chota Rajan, the infamous Indian underworld don, until a couple of months ago. However, police say it would be much too early to take this phone call as authentic.
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