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KATHMANDU, NEPAL, May 7, 2005: Nepal’s Maoist guerrillas admitted responsibility for the gunning down of a prominent Hindu fund raiser, saying he was killed for trying to garner support for King Gyanendra and “committing other crimes in the name of religion.” Nepal was stunned on Friday by the murder of Narayan Prasad Pokhrel, a 47-year-old who had shot to prominence in the last decade by his mesmerizing recital of Hindu scriptures. The Maoists said they had killed Pokhrel for “indulging in sexual exploitation, amassing property illegally and trying to garner popular support in favour of monarchy.”



This is the first time the rebels have killed someone with a religious background. The guerrillas have been waging an armed struggle for nine years, avowing to overthrow monarchy and usher in a secular, communist republic. In a country where ritualistic prayers are held frequently to address all problems – from diseases to violence unleashed by a nine-year-old communist insurgency, Pokhrel had earned renown as a top-notch fund raiser whose recitals helped raise millions of rupees. Pokhrel was gunned down early on Friday morning in Butwal in southern Nepal, where he had been taking part in a nine-day ritual to raise money for an educational institute. A group of people riding motorcycles sprayed him with bullets, killing him and injuring his companion, who was accompanying him. Pokhrel had been hit by 10 bullets, police said. No one was arrested.



Till late afternoon, Nepal’s army had said it had no information if the Maoist guerrillas were behind the murder. But BBC Radio’s Nepalese service quoted a Maoist leader as saying Pokhrel was killed by the Dalit Mukti Morcha, an underground, banned organization affiliated to the Maoists and comprising mostly Dalits, a community regarded to be at the bottom of traditional Hindu society and still treated as untouchables by conservative Nepalese.



Pokrel, despite his fund raising prowess, reportedly faced allegations about extra-marital relationships. The husband of two wives, he was on the verge of being expelled from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an influential socio-religious organization in India and Nepal with close ties to the palace. To avoid the disgrace, Pokhrel floated a different organization but still called it VHP, causing the original organization to take him to court on the ground that two bona fide organizations couldn’t have the same name. The case is still being heard in Nepal’s Supreme Court. Pokhrel made a considerable living, taking a percentage of the money he helped raise. In the last decade, he had helped raise funds worth nearly Nepali Rs 1.98 billion (US$27 million), reports said. While the VHP has been active in garnering support for King Gyanendra and his takeover of the government since February, Pokhrel’s organization, however, was not in the limelight.

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