Kathmandu, September 11
The notorious mastermind of the gold smuggling case, Chudamani Upreti, alias Gore, has escaped from the Central Jail, Sundhara.
Gore, who was implicated in gold smuggling and murder.
Following the escalation of Gen Z protests, prisoners set fires and vandalised prisons before escaping. From Sundhara Jail alone, around 3,300 inmates managed to flee.
Out of 3,800 prisoners held there, only about 500 remained in jail. Some escapees have since returned voluntarily, while others are reportedly on their way back.
According to security sources, inmates who had broken out of Nakkhu Jail arrived around 10 pm and vandalised Sundhara Jail. Following that, the Nepal Police, deployed for security, fled towards the Army Headquarters. It was only afterwards that the Nepal Army reached the jail, but by then, about 3,300 inmates had already escaped.
Gore, who fled from Sundhara Jail, had been linked to the 3,800-kilogram gold smuggling case. During the investigation into the murder of Sanam Shakya of Urlabari, Morang, it was revealed that he was used as a porter after 33.5 kilograms of gold brought from Dubai on January 23, 2018, went missing, and he was later killed.
After allegations surfaced that police officers themselves were involved in the gold smuggling scandal, the Ministry of Home Affairs formed an investigation committee under then joint secretary Ishwar Raj Paudel.
The committee concluded that Gore’s group had smuggled 3,800 kilograms of gold between 2015 and February 2018. A total of 63 individuals, including 9 police officers, were charged. However, not a single kilogram of gold was recovered.
Since the police failed to recover the gold, the Morang District Court acquitted all the accused. Later, on October 5, 2021, the bench of Judge Bharat Lamsal sentenced Gore and five others to life imprisonment for the murder of Sanam Shakya. One person was sentenced to three years, and another to six months in prison.
