Sharma, who had been running a business in Kathmandu, had returned to his hometown during the Dashain–Tihar holidays.
According to police investigations, he had been searching for cheap gold for some time and had asked his acquaintance, Sunil Sah, for help in finding one.
Seeing an opportunity, Sah hatched a criminal conspiracy with his nephew, Rahul Sah, and an Indian national. Their plan was to rob Sharma, abduct him, take him to India, and extort ransom.
However, they ended up killing him instead.
On Kartik 9, Sunil lured Sharma to the Dahi Jhoda Community Forest in Arjundhara Municipality–4, saying he would show him the place where gold was buried.
Around 5:30 p.m., in a secluded area, Sunil and Rahul attacked Sharma with a hammer, killing him on the spot.
With the help of the Indian accomplice, they buried the body in the Biring Riverbank area of Jhapa Rural Municipality–5.
They then drove Sharma’s car (Ba. Pra. 01–30 Ch 7194) to the Nijgadh wetland area of Mechinagar–12 and set it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.
However, police recovered Sharma’s sandals and other belongings from the scene, helping them reconstruct the entire crime sequence.
According to DSP Khagendra Bahadur Khadka, spokesperson of the District Police Office, Jhapa, the two Nepali suspects — 27-year-old Sunil Sah and 23-year-old Rahul Sah — both uncle and nephew, have been arrested and have confessed to the crime during initial interrogation.
The Indian national involved remains at large, and police have intensified the search.
Police have filed charges against the arrested duo for abduction, hostage-taking, attempted murder, and organized crime, and obtained a seven-day custody order from the Jhapa District Court for further investigation.
Sharma’s body has been sent to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, for postmortem examination.
