Maoist leaders Yadav, Ale Magar produced in court (6:14 p.m.)
The authorities on Friday have produced two senior Maoist leaders, Matrika Yadav and Suresh Ale Magar, at the Appellate Court in Lalitpur—for the first time in more than a year.
Yadav and Ale Magar raised their fists and
chanted slogans in front of TV cameras as they were driven away
in a police van from the court. Both of them are being tried on
charge of ordering the murder of then chief of Armed Police Force
(APF), Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and security guard in
January 2003.
During the proceedings, Ale Magar refuted charges leveled against him saying that he was away from Nepal during the time of the incident. Yadav is expected to put forward his views before the court on Sunday.
According to reports, Indian security agencies had detained Yadav and Ale Magar from their rented apartment in New Delhi in February last year and later handed them over to Nepali authorities where they were kept under army custody.
Nepali officials, however, repeatedly denied that the Maoists leaders were under the government's custody.
Then chief of APF Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and a security guard were shot dead by suspected Maoist rebels at the outskirts of Kathmandu while they were in a morning walk. Within days, the Maoists and the then royal-appointed government led by Lokendra Bahadur Chand agreed for a ceasefire.
Responding to media personnel during the ceasefire, senior Maoist leaders refused to accept the responsibility for the killings of three persons including Shrestha. They said they were conducting an investigation.
The rebels, however, broke off from the ceasefire unilaterally after nearly seven months accusing the government of not being sincere towards the peace talks.
The authorities refuted those allegations. nepalnews.com by Sep 30 05
Related News
- Govt claims not to have detained Yadav, Ale Magar
- Police arrest key suspect behind IGP Shrestha's murder
