The funeral procession of the slain Inspector General of the Armed Police Krishna Mohan Shrestha will begin at 1:00 pm Monday, the procession will go around the major parts of the city before reaching Aryaghat in Pashupati.
Shrestha along with his wife Nudup Shrestha and body guard sub inspector Surya Regmi were shot dead by suspected Maoists at the Bagdol crossroads on the Ring Road in Lalitpur Sunday morning. The high profile couple regularly took the same route during their morning walks in Lalitpur.
Empty shells recovered from the site of the shoot-out indicate the bullets fired at the trio were from Chinese pistols apparently stolen by insurgents from the police.
Krishna Hari Sainju, a Maoist suspect injured in the shoot-out, is undergoing medical treatment under close supervision of police after arrest; he hails from Bhaktapur. One of four assailants, may have been a woman, according to an eyewitness.
The cremation of the Shrestha’s will be held at the Pashupati Aryaghat after elder daughter Namrata studying in Manipal and another daughter, Kripa, studying in New Zealand arrive Monday for the funeral; Sristi just completed her higher secondary school examination.
Surya Prasad Regmi, who received commando training in India, was shot dead by suspected rebels the same day he took charge IGP Shrestha’s security. Regmi’s body is being flown to his home in Parbat for cremation, police said Monday.
IGP Shrestha, the senior most security officer killed by Maoists in a seven-year-old communist insurgency, studied criminal justice and police management at Leicester University in the United
Kingdom. Rebels had destroyed Shrestha’s ancestral home in Chainpur last year.
Shrestha joined the Nepal Police in 1970 as police inspector. He was Additional Inspector General Of Police two years back before being promoted as IGP after the institution of the Armed Police Force formed to fight the Maoist insurgents.
Senior Superintendent of Police Parmeshowre Singh Sijapati previously was the senior most security official killed in an encounter in Dang 18 months ago; a major of the Royal Nepal Army deployed against rebels since November 2002 is the highest level army officer killed in clashes with Maoists.
IGP Shrestha who was very popular among the masses for his versatility and simplicity was shot right beneath the eyes. His wife was a reputed teacher at the Lincoln School in Rabi Bhawan for 18 years.
The Nepali daily Samacharpatra reported the Maoists previously had repeatedly warned Mrs. Nudup to quit her job at Lincoln school. The warning was supposedly given because of the fact that the school had American involvement.
Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, leaders of major political parties, relatives and commoners visited Shrestha’s house in Kalanki to pay their last tributes to the Shrestha couple and their body guard. Shrestha is also survived by his 85-year-old mother.
The cabinet which normally meets Monday, met in emergency session Sunday for two hours and condemned the triple murders.