The police team was attacked while Abhishek Giri, who has been accused of the murder of his friend-turned-business rival Karan Yadav, was being taken to the court for a hearing on his case. The baton-wielding YF cadres had pelted stones and bricks at the police van (Ko 1 Cha 3303) that escorted Giri to the court. [break]
Police fired nine rounds of bullets in the air, apart from resorting to baton charging, to disperse the infuriated crowd hell-bent on “lynching Giri to death”. “It was evident that the crowd wanted to kill Giri,” Thakur Singh Bartaula, Superintendent of Police (SP), said.
Nine persons, including Giri, have been injured in the ensuing clash. The injured have been identified as Sub Inspector Raju Shrestha, Assistant Sub Inspector Dilli Katwal, Constable Rajendra Karki, Dadhi Ram Magar, Ashok Kumar Rai, Jutin Basnet, Rajendra Karki and YF cadre Mukesh Budhathoki. The court premises remained tense for hours following the clash.
“The crowd had gathered well before the police van entered the court premises,” Bikash Shrestha, a staffer at the court who witnessed the entire incident, told Republica.
“They suddenly sprang into action.” Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shahkul Bahadur Thapa said they had to open fire to bring the crowd under control. “Had we not used force promptly, the situation would have turned nasty,” he said.
Giri told reporters that he had already warned the police about a possible attempt on his life. He even accused police of not paying serious attention to his warning. “I had asked for adequate security,” he said.
“But I was taken to the court without proper security arrangements.” The court hearing on the charge against Giri was postponed indefinitely following the unexpected incident.
Youth Force cadres attack police team and murder accused Abhishek Giri while being taken to court for hearing on Wednesday.
Parshuram Basnet, Morang president of the YF, said that he had not deployed his cadres to kill Giri. “We did not want to kill him. Our move was to stop the court from acquitting Giri,” Basnet told Republica, adding, “But police brutally suppressed our cadres.”
Basnet, Yadav and Giri, all of them residents of Biratnagar, were partners in contract-business.
However, Giri parted away from Basnet and Yadav following some misunderstandings. The discord between them took a nasty turn later. Yadav was shot dead by a gang allegedly mobilized by Giri on March 11, 2010. Basnet also sustained serious injuries in the same incident.
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