Babban Singh remanded in three-day judicial custody

Babban Singh, the independent Constituent Assembly member from Rautahat-1, who was arrested in Birgunj yesterday on murder charges, has been remanded in judicial custody for three days.

The Parsa District Court remanded him in custody following a hearing on Sunday.

The public prosecutors had demanded seven days judicial custody for him to complete investigation into the accusation of the murder of two Birgunj-based businessmen – Rajesh Kayal and Jata Shankar Shah. Kayal was shot dead on December 22 while Shah was killed three months ago.

Singh, who had already been facing criminal charges including rape of a minor girl and murder, has denied his involvement in the killing of the two businessmen.

Meanwhile, a CA member has thrown weight behind Singh claiming that his arrest was motivated by political vendetta.

Speaking in the parliament today, Sarita Giri, a CA member of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandi Devi), said Singh was arrested just because he had been accusing the Maoists of involving in the murder of Janakpur-based journalist Uma Singh.

In another development, a group staged protest in Birgunj against Singh’s arrest.

The protesters blocked the traffic in the town, burning tyres on the road, and chanted slogans demanding Singh’s release. nepalnews.com mk Jan 18 09