Eight arrested for hostage-taking

Kathmandu, November 16

Police have arrested a group of eight persons for holding hostage and robbing three Indian tourists, who were lured into a trap in Thamel.

The case of swindling the tourists came to light after Metropolitan Police Circle, Lainchaur, arrested 12 persons from Dakshindhoka, Durbar Marg, a few hundred metres from Thamel.

The arrestees have been identified as Dil Bahadur Tamang, Bhim Bahadur Tamang, Kshitiz Lama, Bijay Lama, Tshering Lama, Susma Lama, Sun Bahadur Lama and Aashish Lama.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh Rathour, a group of six Indian nationals had come to Kathmandu on the evening of November 1, by their private vehicles to spend a few days here. Once they booked a hotel room at Thamel, three of the friends decided to take a troll around Thamel area.

In the street, they met a young man, who promised to take them for a spa nearby. DSP Rathour said, “The man took tourists to a restaurant at Dakshindhoka. They had two vacant rooms there, which they used for operating illegal activities.”

The tourists were held captive in the rooms for four hours, and they demanded money in exchange of their release. “The thugs managed to rob of around Rs 150,000 and mobile phones from the Indian nationals.” The gang then intimidated the tourists showing Khukuri and asked them to leave the country immediately. The tourists, then rushed back to their hotel room and left the capital the very night, according to police. On reaching their country, they contacted their Nepali friend Sanjiv Singh, on whose request they had come to visit Kathmandu.

Singh told THT that the tourists complained of death threats they received from the people who had held them hostage.

Singh, who was unaware about their ordeals in Kathmandu, immediately called police for help.

Police then raided the place where the incident had taken place and arrested 12 persons from there. A few days after, two of the tourists came back to Kathmandu and identified eight of the 12 persons involved in the robbery.

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