By Our Reporter
Former minister Nepali Congress Lawmaker Mohammad Aftab Alam is now in police custody. He is the second politician to be the guest of police this Dashain.
He was arrested on the charge of his involvement in killing 22 individuals in Rautahat district during the Constituent Assembly election in April 2008.
Alam has been accused of killing dozens of persons in a massive blast in Rautahat. The blast, which occurred at the cowshed of Alam’s relative when the victims were making bombs, had allegedly left 14 dead and eight injured. Alam has been accused of taking the blast-injured and the dead to a nearby brick kiln and throwing them in the furnace to destroy evidence.
Later, it was learnt that all those killed were making bombs to create terror in the Constituent Assembly elections to secure Alam’s win.
As per the investigation by police, Alam had killed eight of the injured witnesses in a brick kiln.
A team of police led by DSP Nabin Karki arrested Alam from Idris Gate in Rajapur Municipality-1, while he was on his way to attend a tea reception organised by Nepali Congress in district headquarters, Gaur.
His arrest was according to a Supreme Court order of May 29, 2012.
Alam was elected lawmaker from Rautahat Constituency-2 in the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008. But he lost the second Constituent Assembly elections in 2013. But in the parliamentary elections of 2017, Alam won from Rautahat Constituency-2.
As part of the police investigation, two persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the blast. Based on the statements given by the two accused during interrogation, police arrested NC lawmaker Alam, 11 years after the blast.
Only after his arrests, media have been reporting about the heinous crimes committed by Alam. He had even chopped the legs and hands of the injured while throwing him into furnace.
Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had termed the arrest as an attack against Nepali Congress was compelled to correct his statement in public pressure.
All the police officers deployed in Rautahat during and after the incident, former home minister Krishna Siatuala, and NCP leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who appointed Alam in his Cabinet in 2009 and gave protection to Alam are now regarded as culprits by public. More surprising why the Indian media did not report the killing of 22 Indian nationals in the incident.
Anyway, the revelation case, though delayed, has shown how criminals have been dominating Nepali politics.
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