Alam remanded to seven days in police custody

RAUTAHAT, Oct 16: The Rautahat District Court on Tuesday has remanded suspended lawmaker and former minister Mohammad Aftab Alam to judicial custody for seven days for investigations.

Alam has been accused of throwing dozens of blast-injured and dead into the furnace of a brick kiln to destroy the evidences of the blast on the eve of the 2008 CA elections.

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According to a report prepared by the District Police Office, Rautahat, the police didn’t find any evidences of the bomb blast in 2008. The report, which was prepared by the then Rautahat district police chief, SP Laxman Neupane, SP of Armed Police Force (APF) Ram Krishna Lama, and Chief District Officer (CDO) Durga Bhandari, also shows that there was no evidence of any blast in the house that was reportedly destroyed by the explosion. 

Kin of those injured and killed in the blast say that Alam’s men were making bombs that they planned to detonate at polling booths to secure his win. Alam, who was a candidate from the Nepali Congress, eventually won the 2008 elections. 

But after Ruksana Khatun, kin of a victim, was shot dead, the witnesses of the incident were more terrified. After the incident, leader Sailendra Sah, Kiran Sah, among others had organized a press conference at Reporters’ Club in Kathmandu and demanded action against Alam, his brother Mahatab Alam, Mobin Alam, Sheikh Bhadai, and Sheikh Saroj. They had also claimed that the house – destroyed by the blast – was reconstructed overnight, and the blast-injured were burnt in a nearby brick kiln. Kiran Sah had also claimed that the police officers didn’t inspect the house before preparing the report, and that the evidences were destroyed with the help of police officers.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police at Rautahat District Police Office Bhupendra Khatri said that despite lack of strong evidences, police are thoroughly investigating the case following the order of the Supreme Court. He also said that police have collected enough evidences to bring a case against Alam.

The Supreme Court had ordered thorough investigation into the case and action as per the law on May 29, 2012.