Indian held after Hindu leader’s murder in Nepal

KATHMANDU - As Birgunj town, Nepal’s main hub for trade with India, simmered with tension Sunday after the murder of the chief of a newly formed militant Hindu organisation that had become involved in anti-Moist vigilante activities, police arrested an Indian during the hunt for the killers.

Kashinath Tiwari, the 45-year-old chief of Hindu Yuva Sangh, a militant group seeking the restoration of a Hindu kingdom in Nepal, was shot dead Saturday evening while he was visiting a Hindu monastery to inspect the construction of a dharamshala.

Police said four people borne on motorcycles fired at Tiwari and fled. No one had claimed responsibility for the killing till Sunday evening.

As a hunt began for the killers, police said they have arrested four suspicious people, including 18-year-old Arvind Singh from East Champaran in India’s Bihar state.

Tiwari came into prominence last month when he led an attack on a Maoist camp in the town.

In May, the former Maoist guerrillas had called an indefinite shutdown nationwide in a bid to topple the communist-led government.

As public protests began against the closure, Tiwari and his group attacked a camp set up for Maoist cadre, vandalising vehicles, smashing tables and utensils and carting away gas cylinders.

The Hindu group also attacked the Maoist cadre in the camp, injuring over two dozen, including two members of parliament.

Maoist MP Prabhu Shah, who was severely wounded in the May attack, issued a denial soon after Adhikari’s death, saying his party was not involved in the murder.

Since Tiwari was also a real estate dealer, police said business rivalry could not be ruled out as the motive.

Only last week, a businessman and his wife were shot dead in southern Nepal while dozens have been abducted.

The Hindu Yuva Sangh has called an indefinite general strike in Birgunj from Sunday to protest against the murder. Shops and markets remained closed while public transport was scarce.

Nepal’s only openly royalist party in parliament alleged religious reasons behind the murder.

Former home minister Kamal Thapa, whose Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal is seeking the restoration of monarchy as well as Hinduism as the state religion, said in a statement that the pre-planned murder was committed by people who did not want to see Nepal become a Hindu state again.

Till 2006, Nepal had been the only Hindu kingdom in the world. Though conversions were punishable, the tiny South Asian kingdom enjoyed harmony among its various religious communities.

After it became a secular republic, there are however growing reports of religious attacks.