Ramechhap. Police have arrested five members of a gang involved in the robbery of an elderly couple by holding them hostage in Khandadevi Rural Municipality of Ramechhap.

Police have arrested them from different places of Bhaktapur along with the vehicles used in the robbery and stolen goods.

According to the police, a group of masked men broke open the door of the house of 85-year-old Bakhatman Lama and his 86-year-old wife Kanchhi Maya Tamang at Majhuwa Newartole of Khandadevi Rural Municipality-2 on September 3.

According to the police, the group tied the hands of the elderly couple with plastic tape, covered their mouths, blindfolded them and threatened to kill them. They then robbed the elderly couple of their jewellery and cash in the house and fled.

The arrestees have been identified as Suman Jargha Magar, 25, of Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality-2, Sindhuli, Dirgharaj Moktan, 32, of Khandadevi-2, Ramechhap, Pashupati Shrestha,33, of the same locality, Pitambar Gahatraj, 44, of Damak-7, Jhapa and Gunaraj Bishwakarma aka Dipak, 38, of Belahara-5, Dhankuta.

Police confiscated cash, mobile phone, motorbike, bank documents, citizenship certificate, passport, saving books, yellow metal rings and rings from their possession.

Police have recovered Rs 25,000 in cash, a Redmi mobile phone and a 220 cc red-black motorcycle with registration number Ba 73 Pa 8712 from the possession of Suman Jargha Magar. Police said that Rs 52,200 in cash along with various documents and a jacket used in the incident and a half-shirt were recovered from Dirgharaj Moktan.

Police also confiscated a motorcycle (Ba 72 Pa 558), Rs 6,460 in cash, mobile phone, bank account details, savings book, citizenship card, Buddhachitta beads, old coins and a yellow metal ring from Shrestha’s possession.

Police investigation has revealed that Pashupati Shrestha’s group was involved in stealing money from Rudreshwor Mahadev Temple at Khandadevi-7 in Ramechhap district.

Likewise, the involvement of Pashupati Shrestha’s group has been confirmed in the theft of a goat weighing 28 kg each belonging to Sundari Shrestha of Khandadevi Rural Municipality-3 and a 15 kg goat from the cowshed of Ram Bahadur Shrestha of the same ward.

During the investigation, some of the arrested persons were found to be involved in various criminal cases in the past. According to the police, a case of robbery and theft was filed against Dirgharaj Moktan in 2078 BS for misbehaving with the police after arguing with the police, and a case of robbery and theft was filed against Pashupati Shrestha and a group for robbing gold chains in Kathmandu in 2080 BS. According to the police, Gunaraj Bishwakarma was also booked in 2081 BS by the Bouddha Police Circle in Kathmandu on gambling charges.