One Arrested with INSAS Rifle from Bhaktapur, Suspected Weapon Looted During Protest

Bhaktapur – The Armed Police Force has arrested a person with an INSAS rifle from Bhumdol, Suryabinayak Municipality-8. During a special operation on Falgun 19, various types of bullets and domestic weapons were also recovered from the arrested individual.

A special team from the Armed Police Force Nepal Intelligence Bureau arrested 31-year-old Aayan Sedhai, a resident of Palungtar Municipality-9, Gorkha district, who was currently living in a rented room in Bhumdol, Bhaktapur, from his room itself. According to the Armed Police Force, the items recovered from him include an INSAS rifle, 4 SLR bullets, 2 plastic rounds, 1 shotgun round, one khukuri, two khukuri sheaths, one machete (bancharo), and 5 syringes.

It is suspected that the recovered rifle and bullets may have been looted from security personnel during the protests held on Bhadra 23 and 24. DIG Bishnu Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for the Armed Police Force, stated that an investigation is underway regarding the origin of the weapons and ammunition and expressed suspicion that they could be weapons looted during that protest.

The arrested Sedhai has been handed over to Nepal Police for necessary action and investigation. Police have registered a case against him related to weapons and ammunition offenses and have initiated an investigation.

Police officials have stated that further investigation into the incident is ongoing, and detailed information regarding the nature and use of the recovered weapons is being collected. This incident had, however, created an atmosphere of fear in the Bhaktapur area for some time.