A joint bench of Justices Mahendranath Upadhyay and Prakash Chandra Adhikari also commuted the sentences of some other defendants.
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The Biratnagar High Court has sentenced Chudamani Upreti 'Gore' to an additional 10 years in prison in the kidnapping and hostage cases, in the '33 kg gold smuggling' and Sanam Shakya murder cases.
The high court issued this verdict on Sunday, partially reversing the previous verdict of the Morang District Court.
A joint bench of Justices Mahendranath Upadhyay and Prakash Chandra Adhikari has also changed the sentences of some other defendants. The police officers involved in the same case have been acquitted.
After a continuous hearing that began on 20th Magh, the high court has given additional punishment to Gore, who is considered the main planner.
Earlier, the district court had sentenced Gore to life imprisonment (20 years) only in the murder case. With the new verdict of the high court, he will now be sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison, making a total of 30 years.
The court has decided to reduce the prison sentences of some other defendants. The sentences of Narendra Karki, Mohan Kafle and Bhojraj Bhandari, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the district court, have been reduced to 10 years each. Similarly, Madan Silwal, who was convicted of murder, has been sentenced to three years in prison. In the case of Lakpa Sherpa and Bhabin Tamang, the district court's life imprisonment verdict has been upheld.
However, the high court has ruled that the government's claim is not sufficient in the case of 'organized crime' and 'expropriation of property' related to the smuggling of 38 quintals of gold. Earlier, the district court had also upheld the acquittals given to former DIG Govinda Prasad Niraula, then SSPs Shyam Bahadur Khatri and Divesh Lohani (currently AIG), DSPs Sanjay Bahadur Raut and Prajit KC, and SAI Bal Krishna Sanjel.
