Former UML lawmaker Laxmi Mahato Koiri arrested following high court verdict

Mahottari: Police have arrested Laxmi Mahato Koiri, a resident of Gaushala-2 in Mahottari, a leader of the CPN (UML) and former member of the House of Representatives.

Koiri was taken into custody on Thursday evening from the UML party office premises in Gaushala-5 after the Janakpurdham High Court on Wednesday sentenced him to five years in prison in connection with the murder of Armed Police Assistant Inspector (ASI) Thaman Bik.

Spokesperson of the District Police Office, Mahottari and Deputy Superintendent of Police Panchalal Gole confirmed that Koiri was arrested in accordance with the court’s decision.

Earlier, Koiri had been acquitted in the same case by the Mahottari District Court on 28 Mangsir 2080 BS. While the case was ongoing, Koiri, who was elected from the CPN (UML) in Mahottari-1 in the 2079 BS House of Representatives election, had also contested in the last Falgun election this time, but was defeated.

Koiri, a member of the Madhesh Province Committee of the CPN (UML), was taken to the district headquarters, Jaleshwor, after his arrest.

Armed Police Force ASI Thaman Bik was brutally beaten on the streets of Jaleshwor in Bhadra 2072 during the ongoing Madhesh movement. After receiving initial treatment in Jaleshwor, he was being taken to Janakpur in an ambulance for further treatment when a group of people waiting on the road stopped the vehicle, pulled him out, and killed him.