Former minister of state Ram Chandra Raya was found murdered at his home in Sarlahi.

The incident came to light after locals found Raya lying dead in a pool of blood at his Ratanpur-based residence and informed the police.

According to Raya’s domestic worker, three people had come to meet the former state minister and had spent the night at his house. They have been absconding since.

“The former state minister was murdered last night after being attacked on his head with a sharp weapon,” said Superintendent of Police Rabindra Bahadur Singh.

A cane knife, believed to have been used in the crime, was recovered from a bamboo field near the incident site, police said.

“We cannot comment on the crime yet. Further investigation into the matter is underway,” Singh added.

Raya had served as a minister of state for land reforms in the then-prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa’s cabinet in 1997.

He was also a candidate for the vice presidency of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the party’s last general convention.

RPP spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shrestha took to social media to express his sorrow and added that the incident should be investigated immediately and stringent actions should be taken against all those guilty.

Raya is survived by his wife, two sons and five daughters.