Biratnagar. A young woman has been taken into police custody in connection with the death of 51-year-old Manoj Khatri, the operator of Pizzfire Restaurant in Biratnagar.
According to the police, the arrested woman is 27-year-old Indu, also known as Khilina Dahal, who used to look after the accounts of the same restaurant. She has been arrested based on the written complaint filed by Khatri's family.
Morang police have taken her into custody for five days by extending the remand period from the court on Sunday and have started an investigation. The arrested young woman is from Gauradaha, Jhapa, and had been working at the same restaurant for the past 4-5 years. She was looking after the financial transactions and accounting management of the restaurant. According to SP Kavit Katuwal, Chief of the District Police Office, Morang, Dahal has been taken into custody based on the family's complaint, and the court has extended her remand period to investigate the incident.
According to the police, preliminary facts show that there were disputes between Khatri and Dahal regarding financial transactions. SP Katuwal stated that the investigation is being conducted focusing on the fluctuations in their personal relationship and whether there were any irregularities in the restaurant's financial accounts.
Dahal, on the other hand, has admitted to looking after all the accounts of the restaurant but stated that she did not commit any financial irregularities and did not blackmail or stress Khatri in any way. She mentioned in her statement that Khatri had been consuming excessive alcohol for about 10 days. To ascertain the truth of the incident, the police are conducting technical examinations of their mobile phones and other digital devices.
Khatri, a resident of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-3, left home with his scooter at 1 PM last Friday. He remained out of contact with his family and was found hanging from a tree in the jungle of Dharapani, Kerabari Rural Municipality-9, Morang, on Saturday afternoon. The scooter he rode is yet to be found.
Khatri is survived by his wife, one son, and one daughter. The post-mortem process was initiated in the presence of the family after his wife, who was in India at the time of the incident, returned. The post-mortem was conducted at BP Koirala Health Sciences Institute in Dharan. Police have stated that the exact cause of death will be determined based on the post-mortem report, technical analysis, and facts revealed through the investigation.
