The District Police Office (DPO) in Morang booked Hindu leader Shree Niwas under the Arms and Ammunition Act on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in Kathmandu for staging an attack on himself on the early morning of April 8.

Though the investigation has concluded that Shree Niwas had instructed his bodyguard to shoot at him with a malicious intent of fomenting religious unrest in the country, police have only decided to charge him with firearm possession, much to the surprise of many.

While the DPO has secured 10 days remand to keep Shree Niwas in custody, some legal practitioners say the case is already weakened because the police have not found the pistol used in the crime. “Shree Niwas could be released if the authorities fail to confiscate the firearm,” said lawyer Yogendra Chauhan, who believes that the crime committed by the Hindu leader is far too insidious to ignore. “He conspired to incite religious and communal violence. He should have been charged for the same.”

If convicted under the Arms and Ammunition Act, Shree Niwas could face one year imprisonment or Rs 100,000 fine or both.Superintendent of Police (SP) Arun Kumar BC said Shree Niwas was under investigation for possession of firearm, but did not explain why he was not being probed for trying to incite communal violence.

When Shree Niwas and his two accomplices— Madhav Chaudhary and Laxmiraj Adhikari— were presented before the media at the District Police Office on Monday, SP BC had said that the intention of the religious leader was to rally the Hindus across the country to launch a “decisive movement” to reinstate Hindu nation.Police have already booked Chaudhary and Adhikari for attempted murder.

The crime of Shree Niwas has left many people red-faced, including government ministers, lawmakers and political leaders who were quick to offer words of sympathy to the religious leader and censure the law enforcement agencies for poor security.

Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Lal Babu Pandit, who visited Shree Niwas at the hospital in Biratnagar, had announced that the government would pay for his treatment. Similarly, the lawmakers from the opposition party in Province 1 had demanded the government to assign security detail for the leader.

Chief District Officer Ram Prasad Acharya said the province and the federal governments had decided to pay for the treatment of Shree Niwas before the case took a different turn. “Once again It is for the province and the federal governments to decide what to do on the matter,” he said.