BHUSAN YADAV

BIRGUNJ, OCT 12 –
The Parsa District Attorney’s Office (DAO) has exonerated Minister for Land Reforms and Management Prabhu Sah, who has been linked with the murder of Hindu Yuba Sangh leader Kashi Tiwari.
The DAO on Wednesday issued a chargesheet against four people—Shiyaram Kushawaha, Aman Kushawaha, Baliram Sah and Mukesh Saraf—but not Sah, who allegedly plotted Tiwari’s murder.
Two motorcycle-borne assailants had shot dead Tiwari on June 27, 2010 at Ashokbatika in Birgunj Municipality.
The DAO gave a clean chit to the Maoist minister saying that the investigation report submitted by the Birgunj police did not bear any evidence to establish his involvement in the crime.
Assistant District Attorney Satya Narayan Yadav said a complementary chargesheet could be filed against Sah if the police came up with the evidence.
A legal expert, meanwhile, accused the government attorney of misusing the post by excusing Sah, though there was ample evidence to press a criminal charge against him.
“There are many people who have faced litigation based on mere accusation,” he said. “Clearly, the government attorney became the judge in this case.”
The investigation report prepared by the police named Sah as the main conspirator in Tiwari’s murder and recommended legal action accordingly.
The chargesheet, however, states police evidences could not establish Minister Sah’s involvement in the murder.
“The government attorney’s decision has lowered the morale of the police. It has let out a message that those in power are above the law,” a police officer involved in the investigation said.
The chargesheet has named Shiyaram, who is also the personal secretary of Sah, as the main perpetrator of the crime and recommended life term with confiscation of property.
The DAO recommended a 10-year jail term for Aman as the main accessory to the crime, while two other suspects—Baliram and Mukesh—were placed for three years’ jail term each.

Source: The Kathmandu Post – 13.10.2011