Shesh Gafar, 46, and his wife Shenaz Begam, 40, were shot dead at their home. Gafar was a village committee member of the UCPN (Maoist). [break]
The gunmen while fleeing after the murder also shot at Gafar´s neighbor Sheikh Shoaib and his wife Sakima Khatun.
Khatun, who is reportedly in a critical condition, has been referred to Kathmandu for further treatment. Shoaib has been admitted to Narayani Sub Regional Hospital, Birgunj.
The police have arrested Gafar´s elder brother Sheikh Mubarak and his brother-in-law Sheikh Dilar on the charge of conspiring to murder the couple.
According to police, Mubarak, who was in a dispute with Gafar over the ownership of a plot of ancestral land, is suspected to have hired professional shooters from India to murder the couple.
“Gafar´s all precious belongings are safe at his home,” said Shiva Hari Upadhyay, the chief district officer (CDO) of Rautahat. “So, it does not look like a robbery case. The motive of the crime must be something else.”
According to SP Thule Rai, the chief of District Police Office (DPO) of Rautahat, the gunmen shot Gafar in the temple and Sehnaz in the neck.
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