Kathmandu, 4 February: Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyay narrowly escaped a Maoist attack in Chhyasatti of Surkhet, about 500 km west of Kathmandu, on Saturday. However six others were killed, and two still missing are feared dead. Among those killed in the attack are the Registrar of Surkhet Appellate Court Baldev Dhital and policemen Ram Bahadur Basnet, Birendra Khadka, Kaushal Budha, Khagendra Magar. Purisottam Parajuli, a judge at the Surkhet Appellate Court, and half a dozen policemen were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment in Nepalgunj hospital.

Chief Justice Upadhyay was on his way to Surkhet for an inspection of the appellate court and district court there. The Chief Justice was in a convoy of five vehicles that ran right into a Maoist ambush at 4:45 pm. Two cars had passed the point where a booby trap went off, but the driver of the third car stopped and fled, trapping two other cars behind it. The Maoists then attacked the three stalled vehicles.

It is believed that Justice Upadhyaya was one of the main targets of insurgents due to his verdicts against some Maoist supporters and workers in some recent cases. He had also been a vocal proponent of special courts set up to try Maoists. It was the first attack of Maoists on such a high ranking official, considered the third in importance among constitutional posts after the king and prime minister.