Police arrest five suspects in honey trap murder

Makwanpur, October 2 — Binod Khadgi, a 50-year-old resident of Kirtipur, Kathmandu, has been confirmed as a victim of a "honey trap" murder.

Khadgi's body was found on September 22, in the 49 kilo area of Panchkhal Municipality-8 in Kavre. Preliminary investigations by the Kavre District Police Office indicate that Khadgi was murdered in Bhaktapur and then his body was disposed of in Panchkhal.

The police have arrested five individuals involved in Khadgi's abduction and murder. Those arrested include 22-year-old Sarin Ghimire from Shankharapur Municipality-5 in Kathmandu, 20-year-old Ashish Paswan from Mahottari, currently residing in Bhaktapur, 21-year-old Rikesh Paudel from Shankharapur Municipality-5, and 19-year-old Pratik Gautam from Baglung, currently living in Koteshwar, Kathmandu. DSP Basundhara Khadka, informed that their remand has been extended for 17 days at the Kavre District Court for further investigation.

Three Indian nationals involved in the murder are still at large. Investigations have revealed that the main planner of Khadgi's murder is 21-year-old Manisha Maht from Sindhupalchok’s Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-2.

According to the police, Manisha, who is currently renting a place in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-9 in Bhaktapur, is suspected of having committed the murder there.

The police further revealed that Manisha does not appear to be a hardened criminal. However, she was recently found to have returned from India after extorting 150,000 Nepali Rupees from a person through a honey trap.

How was Khadgi murdered?

Approximately three months ago, Manisha, along with Indian nationals Ansu and Shivam, had beaten up a person in Greater Noida, India, and extorted 150,000 Rupees before returning to Nepal. During this time, the group had devised a plan to lure wealthy individuals into compromising situations in Nepal.

On the evening of September 20, a plan was made to target a wealthy individual at Manisha’s rental room in Bhaktapur, where Ansu, Shivam, Sarin, and Rikesh would participate.

According to the police, the group planned to wait for a businessman, first serving him drinks and then, after a meal, assaulting him to demand ransom.

The next day, Indian national Ansu met Pratik Gautam, who resides in Koteshwar, to inform him of their plan. They both went to Ansu’s place and then to Ashish Paswan’s fruit shop to discuss their plan.

They had arranged to meet on the way to Manisha's place. On September 21, Manisha asked Khadgi to help her obtain a copy of her citizenship certificate, which prompted him to visit her rental room. Once inside, Manisha and Khadgi began drinking and eating eggs together. At that moment, Manisha left the room under the pretense of buying chilies and called other accomplices.

The group attacked Khadgi in Manisha's room, and while he was injured, they began bargaining for money.

According to the police involved in the investigation, initially, they discussed asking for 3 million Rupees, but Manisha insisted on asking for 1 million instead. Khadgi, stating he didn’t have that much, offered to give 500,000 Rupees. He then attempted to call for help using his mobile phone, but it malfunctioned, so he used Ansu's phone to call his employee Pradeep Thapa Magar at the butcher shop.

On the call, Khadgi requested 500,000 Rupees urgently and instructed that a person would arrive in front of the Bhaktapur Bhattbhatenni to deliver the money on a motorcycle. At around 5:15 PM, Pradeep confirmed with Khadgi and handed over the money to Ashish Paswan.

Within 15-20 minutes, Ashish took the money to Manisha's room, and after giving it to Ansu, they planned to kill Khadgi. According to police reports, around 10 PM, Khadgi was taken to a secluded area near the Suryabinayak Ganesh Temple, where he was killed by being struck with stones.

After the murder, the group disposed of Khadgi's body in a bush about 8 meters down from the Arniko Highway in Panchkhal, near 49 kilo. Investigations have revealed that on September 22, Ansu distributed a total of 180,000 Rupees among various individuals, including 100,000 to himself, 10,000 to Pratik, 20,000 to Ashish, and 50,000 to his sister, Roshni.