A 28-year-old Rana Bahadur Gharti, who was abducted along with Raj Kumar Shrestha, a Tulsipur-based businessman, in Dang, was found dead on Wednesday.

Gharti, a permanent resident of Hapur, Ghorahi, was found dead at the Jhimpe Lek Bhanjyang Jungle in Chatreshwor Rural Municipality-4 Salyan, the same place from where Shrestha’s body was recovered, according to SP Dhir Pratap Singh of the District Police Office, Dang.

He said that Gharti could have been murdered on the very day Shrestha was killed as his body was found 200 metres away from Shrestha’s body.

Gharti was heading towards Rukum with an Indian businessman in a vehicle (HP 118648) when the abductors intercepted his vehicle mistaking it for Shrestha’ vehicle near Kapurkot in Salyan on June 9. The abductors kidnapped Gharti in fear that he would disclose their identities, police said

Shrestha, who was travelling in a white car (Ba 11 Cha 1071), was behind Gharti’s vehicle.

When Shrestha reached the incident site, the abductors kidnapped both of them.

Both the vehicles were found at Melkhola in Kapurkot Rural Municipality-5 of Salyan on June 10.

Police have so far arrested 10 persons in connection with the abduction and murder.

Police had made public Man Bahadur Bhandari, 35, of Ghimpe, the alleged mastermind of the incident, Tika Ram Gharti aka Nirmal, 40, of Shantinagar-2, currently residing at Tulsipur-6 and his daughter Puja amid a press conference at the District Police Office, Dang, on Tuesday.

A special team of Nepal Police had arrested them from Nepal-India border.

Similarly, Bhupendra Bhandari, 28, of Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City-8, was arrested from Tulsipur-11 while Khum Bahadur KC, 30, from Kathmandu and Narayan Oli, 41, of Beluwa Shivajyoti, Tulsipur-9 from Tulsipur, police informed.

Earlier, police had arrested Man Bahadur Pun alias Ramesh, 40, of Ghorahi-4, Rugat Tahap Magar, 23, of Tulsipur-6, Abiral Mahatara aka Kamal, 25, of Tulsipur-12 and Jama Pun, 38, of Naya Bazaar, Ghorahi-14 for their alleged involvement in the abduction.