Palpa Police arrested Jageshwor Neupane on Wednesday after investigations revealed his involvement in the case. Police had arrested Jageshwor earlier but released him two weeks ago with the condition to mark his attendance daily at the District Police Office after the family told the police that a hasty arrest of a relative would vitiate the family atmosphere. [break]
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Govinda Thapaliya said the accused was released as the police had not been able to find any evidence against him other than trying to destroy phone call records. “On top of that the victim´s father himself had been the guarantor for the release of the accused. We have again arrested him after finding additional evidence against him,” DSP Thapaliya said refusing to divulge the details about the new evidence as the investigations are ongoing.
The conversation with abductors about ransom was recorded on father Ram Prasad´s cell phone but his brother Jageshwor had vanished with the mobile set just five minutes after the conversation was recorded. He was later found along with the set while the abductors, who had been regularly calling for ransom, has not called even once in over one month after the conversation was recorded. The status of the 17-year-old is not known yet.
“We were in a tight spot as the family had not lodged a formal complaint against anyone and had also requested to wait for a few days considering the safety of the boy,” DSP Thapaliya explained.
The boy´s father conceded that there are enough evidences to suspect his brother. Maternal uncle Shankar Basyal added that the family has reached the conclusion that Jageshwor was involved in the case. “We had suspicion earlier but we thought the boy will be released. He had said that he took the mobile to play the recording to the DSP and inspector but we subsequently found that he didn´t go to the police,” Basyal said.
Police Inspector Purushottam Pandey revealed that Jageshwor has admitted to have tried to destroy the phone evidence. “We have initiated investigations after taking him under custody. We will make everything public within a few days,” Pandey assured.
Uncle Jageshwor, on his part, denied any involvement in the case. “I had tried to secure release of my nephew but have been arrested without sufficient evidence,” Jageshwor argued. “Now, there is a genuine chance that the real culprits may go scot free while the family harbors acrimony against each other,” he added.
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