Kathmandu, Aug 30 (IANS) As Nepal’s new Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai assumed office Tuesday, a gunfight broke out between police and kidnappers in the capital, underscoring the fragile security situation.
Police said three men had abducted a Nepali man, Gobinda Bahadur Karki, who had been working in Singapore, and held him captive in a hotel in Thamel, the hub of foreign tourists in Kathmandu.
They snatched away 325 Singapore dollars Karki was carrying with him and demanded another NRS 3 lakh. Finally, they agreed to accept NRS 70,000.
Karki’s family informed police who accompanied them to the hotel with the negotiated ransom money.
However, the gang got wind of the police arrival and began showering the patrol with bottles, causing police to fire.
One of the three kidnappers, Sital Tuladhar, was injured in the firing. Police also arrested a second, Kushal Mukhiya, though the third managed to escape.
The abducted Karki was released unharmed. Police recovered a pistol from the hotel room.
There have been growing cases of murder, rape and extortion in the capital since a communist-Maoist alliance came to power in February.
Though the Maoists pressured the then PM Jhala Nath Khanal into handing over the home ministry to them, it led to a spurt in crimes.
On the day of the new prime ministerial election Sunday, a powerful Maoist trade union leader and MP was injured in a murderous attack on the streets.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)
