| golkhandi |
Posted
on 07-Nov-03 03:29 PM
Innocent youth shot dead for brushing car against army bus
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BY BIKASH SANGRAULA
KATHMANDU, Nov 6 - In a shocking incident that took place at Dhungedhara, Banasthali, at 5:15 p.m. today, an army personnel shot dead Rajeev Shrestha, 21, after his car hit an army college bus.
The army personnel also manhandled another passenger of the car. Rajeev, who was on the wheel, died instantly after the bullet fired from outside the cars window ~ ~ went straight through his chest.
The private Toyota Corolla car, with the registration number Ba. 1. Ja. 3949, hit the bus with the registration number Ba. 1. Ga. 1172, while Rajeev attempted to take a turn. The bus was on its way to drop college students. The passengers of the bus are reported to be safe. There were three security guards in the bus.
The bus sustained minor damages while the cars front was heavily damaged. The car, belonging to Rajeevs friend Amir Shrestha, was later towed away by a crane with the registration number Ba. 1. Ja. 750.
Army personnel present at the site of the accident refused to disclose the identity of the shooter. "It is a minor accident. Why are you curious?" said one security personnel.
However, Shresthas friend, who was accompanying him in the car, said while requesting anonymity that one security guard of the bus climbed out immediately after the accident and shot Rajeev.
"Then they pulled me out of the car and hit me continuously, knocking me to unconsciousness," he said at the mortuary of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, among the downcast relatives of Rajeev.
Rajeev, who owned a wholesale store at Naya Bazaar, had taken the car from his friends garage situated in Sanobharyang for trial. He was planning to purchase the car. The owner of the car refused to disclose their names and what they witnessed, citing "security reasons".
Similarly, Satish Tamang, 16, a shopkeeper near the site of the incident, admitted to have witnessed the shootout. "I heard the gunshot, and saw army personnel bashing up one passenger of the car," he said.
Rajeevs uncle Narendra Shrestha, 34, who was waiting near the garage for Rajeev to return with the vehicle, went to the accident site after hearing a gunshot.
"By the time I reached there, Rajeev was already dead. On top of that, the army personnel were aiming his gun at him, threatening to fire another round of shot. He was stopped from doing so by another security personnel," said a thoroughly shaken Shrestha, adding sternly that the army personnel should not escape justice.
Rajeev, the oldest of two sons and a daughter of Rajendra Shrestha, 45, lived with his joint family at Yetkha, Bhedasingh. He was unmarried and looked after the family business.
Army spokesman Colonel Deepak Gurung said that investigation on the case was afoot. "The guilty will be duly penalised," he said, adding, "The shooting occurred when the driver tried to run away."
|
