Once, Prachanda promised the evidence of threat to USA diplomats in Nepal... well, Maoists came with skimpy useless shitty evidence of VCD of useless news articles and collection of pictures.. Now Babban also promises bringing out the evidence... This is interesting.... If Babban can come up with credible evidence... He should be PM of Nepal.. Prachanda should relinquish the post.. what do you say, guys? Babban says Maoist lawmaker behind journo murder Constituent Assembly (CA) member Babban Singh, who was arrested by the police 3 days ago on charges of murder of two Birgunj-based businessmen, has claimed that a Maoist lawmaker was directly involved in the gruesome murder of journalist Uma Singh. He also said that he was arrested because the Maoists were afraid that this secret will come out into the open. Organizing a hasty “press conference” at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Narayani Sub-Regional Hospital Tuesday where he was admitted after he complained of chest pain following his arrest, Babban said he will reveal the name of that Maoist lawmaker with supporting evidence on Wednesday. The independent lawmaker from Rautahat-1, who is facing various criminal charges including rape of a minor girl, was remanded in judicial custody for three days by the Parsa district court on Sunday. In the brief talk with local mediapersons, Babban, while still lying on hospital bed, also said that a week before journalist Singh was hacked to death in Janakpur he had received an e-mail from her (Singh) where she had stated that an attempt on her life was made. He said he immediately forwarded a copy of that email to Gayatri Shah, a CA lawmaker from Sarlahi, instructing her to see to it that it reaches CA chairperson Subas Chandra Nemwang. He, however, said that he doesn’t know whether the copy of that mail actually reached him or not. However, Babban’s claim holds little ground as journalist Singh often criticized him including Maoist leaders and local criminal gangs operating in the name of armed groups fighting for “Madhesi liberation” in her articles in local papers. According to reports, in one of the public functions when Babban was speaking on women’s rights, journalist Singh reprimanded him for the rape cases he was implicated in. Babban also said that both the Maoists and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam of CPN-UML had in the past applied “huge pressure” on him to join their respective parties, but he declined those offers. He also saw conspiracy behind his arrest, claiming that he was wrongfully accused of killing a local businessman as part of a political vendetta on him for declining to join the aforesaid parties and strongly protesting the election of CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as the chairperson of the Constitutional Committee. He also accused the Maoists of just trying to save its government from being toppled by giving the former UML general secretary, who was defeated in two constituencies he ran during the CA election, “the responsibility of writing the new constitution against the people’s mandate”. Prior to emerging victorious from Rautahat constituency-1 as an independent candidate, the double-murder accused was in the most-wanted list of the police for his alleged involvement in the series of bomb-blasts in Kathmandu and Gaur massacre where dozens of Maoist cadres had been killed. After he was admitted to the hospital, police said Babban was just feigning illness, as he wants himself to be transferred to a Kathmandu hospital in an attempt to gain political pressure in his favor. A few Constituent Assembly members from smaller Madhesi parties had objected to his arrest. Meanwhile, reports said supporters continued their protest in the southern industrial town Birgunj against the arrest of Babban on Monday as well. They blocked the traffic in the town, burning tyres and chanting slogans demanding Babban's release. nepalnews.com ag Jan 20 09