Ram Bahadur Mukhiya, 64, of Darlamchaur in Ishma Rural Municipality-3 has died on January 13 after being beaten by the “witch-doctor” (Dhami) with an excuse of healing his illness using traditional techniques. He was beaten using hot iron rods.
Topla Damai, 40, of Resunga Municipality-5 and Hum Bahadur Mukhiya, 34, son of the deceased have been referred to Palpa, after treating them in Gulmi Hospital, said Gulmi Hospital Chief Doctor Uttam Pachya.
According to DSP Purushottam Prasad Pandey of District Police Office, Gulmi, Ram Prasad Shrestha, 38, and his wife Shantila Shrestha, 36, of Udindhrunga, Resunga Municipality-1 have killed and injured them using an iron rod.
The accused couple has been arrested by the police on January 13. According to DSP Pandey, the body of the deceased had blue scars all over his body as they have been him burning him with various metals for the past four days. The body has been kept at Gulmi Hospital, Tamghas for postmortem. Police said that further investigation is underway into the incident.
Ram Bahadur Mukhiya, 64, of Ishma Rural Municipality-3 had been suffering from back pain and Topla Damai, 40, of Resunga Municipality-5, had also reached Shrestha’s place on January 9 for treatment after getting a burning sensation in his body. The accused Shrestha couple had kept all the victims at home for four days.
The deeds of the Shrestha couple near Tamghas Bazaar, the district headquarters of Gulmi, were not known before. They had been renting land from local Madhav Gyawali for three years.
Neighbours informed that they did not live there. The last time the couple was in Tamghas after Dashain.
Accused Ram Prasad Shrestha had gone to the District Police Office on January 13 to lodge a complaint alleging that an unidentified person had created unrest in his house.
A police team including Inspector Santosh Chand of District Police Office Gulmi reached the incident venue. Inspector Chand said that the police was shocked to see the dead and injured people there. After the injured told the police everything, the truth of the incident was revealed.