Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam has said police investigators are in hot pursuit of the killers of Ram Hari Shrestha of Koteshwor.

Speaking at the Constituent Assembly’s legislative meeting on Monday, Gautam said the search for the killers is going on, and expressed confident that Kali Bahadur Kham Magar ‘Bibidh’, the suspended division commander of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army who is the prime suspect in the murder case, would be arrested soon.

The Maoist leadership had suspended Kham Magar from the PLA post in the wake of pressure from protesting family members of Ramhari Shrestha, human rights groups and political parties. He is at large for some time.

The Home Minister’s statement came after the lawmakers from the main opposition Nepali Congress demanded information regarding the progress in the investigation into the murder case.

Defence minister Ram Bahadur Thapa came under fire for allegedly meeting Kham Magar during a recent visit to his constituency in Chitwan district. However, furnishing clarification in the House on Sunday, minister Thapa refuted reports of his meeting with the absconding PLA commander, who is in the wanted list of the police.

Ramhari Shrestha, a restaurant owner from Koteshwore, Kathmandu, was killed in captivity at a PLA camp in Chitwan in May this year. nepalnews.com mk Nov 10 08