Gang war in Naikap, ‘don’ Chari shot at

KATHMANDU, JUL 07 -
In what appears a gang war, notorious gangster Dinesh Adhikari alias Chari was attacked by an unidentified group of gunmen on Friday night at Naikap, three kilometres west of Kalanki, in the Capital. The group opened fire at Chari at around 11pm when he was driving back to Kathmandu from his home district Dhading in a blue Volkswagen Polo (Ba 10 Cha 5993). Considered a close aide to CPN-UML leader KP Oli, Chari is also a Dhading district member of the UML.

The bullet fired from a pistol went past Chari ’s right arm. The shootout occurred on the road in front of the office of Sipradi Trading (P) Ltd. Police said Chari is out of danger and is undergoing treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH).

In his preliminary statement to police, Chari said he was attacked by a gang of over a dozen people who had come on nearly six motorcycles. “They intercepted the vehicle and encircled it before smashing the car with sharp weapons and stones,” DSP Chakra Bahadur Singh, spokesperson for Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range Hanumandhoka, quoted Chari as saying.

“One of them, then opened fire from outside the broken window of the car.” Police said the shot was fired only once. Chari ’s other three henchmen, who were accompanying him, were not injured in the shootout that hardly lasted five minutes.

Police, meanwhile, arrested one Rajendra Lama, 27, on suspicion of his involvement in the assault. According to police, Lama, who had his left leg broken in the incident, abandoned his motorcycle at the site and rushed towards a nearby Yeti Hospital for treatment. “He is currently being treated at Jana Maitri Hospital,” said DSP Singh. “However, he has refused to accept his involvement in the shootout. He says his motorcycle struck Chari ’s car which was coming from the opposite direction.”

Police, based on preliminary investigations, said gangsters Radhe Bhandari and Samir Basnet  might have been behind the shootout.

“ Chari is said to have amputated the hand of one Shree Krishna Bhandari in a gang fight in Dhading a couple of months back,” police said. “Shree Krishna is the younger brother of Radhe. This incident is all about revenge. Samir Basnet, a don based in Kathmandu,  also has had troubled relations with Chari .”

DSP Singh, however, refused to divulge details saying that they were yet to get to the bottom of the case. “Investigations are underway,” he said.When asked if the shootout in the Capital indicates at a larger picture of security lapses on the part of Nepal Police, DIG Nawa Raj Silwal, police spokesperson, said the incident has nothing to do with security arrangements. “This is an incidental case, which occurred in the wake of rivalry between gangs,” he said.

“We have already arrested one on suspicion of his involvement in the shootout. We will very soon get other people involved as well.” DIG Silwal said police were also working on identifying the number of dons with possession of illegal weapons. “There are a number of challenges to police concerning this. One of them is the easy availability of small arms,” he said. “Another is the gangsters’ close connection with either political parties or political leaders.”

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