The Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday has slapped two persons to life imprisonment with confiscation of property for their involvement in the murder of a couple at Ranibari in Kathmandu 12 years ago.

A single bench of Justice Ramesh Prasad Rijal handed over the verdict against Man Raj Gurung of Dolakha and Pramesh Chauhan of Ramechhap this afternoon, according to Kathmandu District Court’s registrar Dhruba Kumar Upreti. They are cooling their heels in a central jail for the past two years.

The duo had murdered engineer Hemant Shrestha and his wife Anjali Shrestha on July 15, 2002. The couple was hacked to death in their rented apartment in Ranibari.

The duo, hired to kill the owner of the house Rita Khadka, ended up killing the engineer couple. However, Khadka, a foreign employment agent, managed to survive by hiding in the toilet.

The murder was a contract killing and the duo were paid Rs 200,000 to execute the plot.