Nephew held within 48 hours for Pokhara woman’s murder

POKHARA: Police have arrested two accused involved in the brutal murder of a woman at Sabhagriha Chowk of Pokhara on Wednesday evening.

According to the District Police Office, Kaski, the main accused has been identified as Shishir KC (27), also known as Santosh. KC is the nephew of the deceased. Police have also arrested his accomplice, Kushal Pariyar (32).

Sirjana KC Paudel (42) of Malepatan-5 was gruesomely murdered at around 7:00 pm on Wednesday. Police managed to arrest the suspects within two days of the incident.

Police say the main accused, Shishir, originally from Kushma Municipality-11 of Parbat district, had been living in a rented room in Pokhara-6. Similarly, Santosh had been living in the Rato Pahira area in Pokhara-17.

Police made the suspects public during a press conference at the District Police Office, Kaski, on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, SP Nabin Karki said preliminary investigation shows that family disputes and property-related issues were the main motives behind the murder.

According to police, the main accused was arrested at Manakmana Tole in Butwal-2 of Rupandehi, where he was hiding, with the help of the District Police Office, Rupandehi. “The main accused has a criminal background. He was previously arrested and convicted multiple times in cases of public offense, theft, and robbery,” Karki said.

Police investigations revealed that KC used Pariyar as an accomplice. The scooter and the sharp weapon used in the crime have also been recovered. While the scooter was found at Mustang Chowk in Pokhara, the weapon was recovered from the Titepani forest area in Pokhara-16.

“On the day of the incident, the accused arrived on a scooter and attacked Sirjana while she was heading home after closing her shop. Shishir, who had concealed the weapon in a sack, struck her on the head with the sharp weapon and fled the scene on the scooter driven by Pariyar,” Karki said. “Shishir had lured Pariyar into assisting him by offering money.”

Sirjana had been living alone and running a shoe shop at Hong Kong Market in Pokhara following her husband’s mother. She had a four-year-old daughter.

Sirjana had married Krishna KC about four years ago after the death of his first wife due to poisoning. However, Krishna passed away two years ago. He had one son and one daughter from his first marriage. The son is currently serving a sentence at Kaski prison in a drug-related case.

According to DSP Hari Bahadur Basnet, legal proceedings have been initiated against the suspects under homicide charges. “Further investigation is underway to determine whether other accomplices were involved,” he added.

The accused will be prosecuted under the homicide provisions of the National Penal Code, 2017.

During the press conference, relatives of the victim had attempted to attack the main accused. However, the police prevented them from reaching the main accused.