KATHMANDU, Nov 2: Police arrested two Indian nationals on the charge of possessing an automatic pistol, four magazines and 51 rounds of bullets from the capital on Wednesday evening.
Police suspect that the arrested persons are sharp shooters, who may have come to Nepal with the assassination plan of high profile persons.
Ex-Nepalese Army personnel arrested with pistol
The arrested persons have been identified as Jaswant Singh and Debendra Singh of Ludhiyana, Punjab, India. Preliminary investigation has revealed that they arrived in Kathmandu via Raxaul customs point in their private car with registration number PB 10 FS 74449 on Tuesday.
Police arrested them from Heritage Plaza after they accidentally opened fire over verbal dispute with the owner of an eatery there. Although they were brandishing the pistol to the eatery’s employees apparently to threaten them, they fired it accidentally.
No one, however, was hurt in the incident, according to SSP Rabindra Dhanuk, who is chief of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu. Police had later recovered magazines and additional bullets hidden in their car.
Police rounded them from Ganesh Temple at Kamaladi and took them to the Metropolitan Police Circle, Kamalpokhari for investigation. SSP Dhanuk said they are currently carrying out investigation to determine their motive behind coming to Nepal with an automatic pistol and bullets.
The shootout incident comes a few weeks after two unidentified assailants shot construction entrepreneur Sharad Kumar Gauchan dead in Shanti Nagar area in the capital in broad daylight on October 9. The incidents have raised serious questions over the security arrangement for the upcoming federal parliament and provincial assembly polls scheduled for November 26 and December 7.
