Dekendra murder case: Charges filed against nine

Dailekh District Attorney's office has filed charges against nine people accused of murdering journalist Dekendra Thapa in August 2005.

Five of the accused, who were earlier arrested by police, were presented before the district court earlier today, local police said. However, four of the accused are still on the run.

In the charge sheet, the District Attorney's office has sought life imprisonment for the accused and demanded that the court order officials to confiscate property in their name.

The case has been making headlines across the country, especially after Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai ordered local officials to halt official investigation into the murder. Most of the accused are Maoist cadres.

The Prime Minister has been saying that war-time cases such as these should be handled by a truth commission, and not by 'traditional' courts. However, the Supreme Court, responding to a writ petition, had directed Dailekh officials not to drop investigation into the case. nepalnews.com