‘Outside force’ may be behind Muslim leader murder: Nepal PM

“The Prime Minister told us that he knew which outside forces were responsible for instigating the murder of Ansari,” a member of the delegation said. Bhattarai had asked them not to speak openly on the “sensitive subject”,the delegate said,and agreed to meet them after keeping the media away.

“There is tremendous pressure on the government not to take the probe forward,” a delegate quoted the PM as having said.

“All that the Prime Minister hinted was that Faizhan’s murder was one more in the chain of Muslim leaders in the past,” the delegate said.

The delegation told the PM they had no faith in the official probe team formed after the incident,and said the panel must include representatives from Islamic outfits. They warned that the Islamic organisations would go on a “decisive agitation” starting October 15 if this demand was not met.

Three prominent Muslim leaders in Nepal have been killed in the past eleven years. Mirza Dilshad Beg,a former minister with suspected underworld links,was killed in Kathmandu in 2000. The Chhota Rajan group later claimed responsibility. Jamim Shah,the owner of a TV channel was shot dead in 2009 in Lazimpat area,but no one has been arrested yet.

Another politician,Md Yunus Ansari,was shot dead inside Kathmandu’s central jail in March,following which Manjeet Singh — an Indian national — was arrested.