Former Ambassador of Nepal to France Keshav Raj Jha, 80, was found stabbed to death at his own residence in Babarmahal, Kathmandu, on Monday morning.

His wife found Jha dead after he did not respond to her calls for tea. She had gone to his room when Jha did not get up at his usual time. When there was no response, workers opened the door to the room where Jha was lying dead. The door was locked from inside.

Jha lived with his wife and a servant in the house guarded by a watchman. The couple, however, lived separately—Jha lived downstairs.A former joint-secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jha served as Nepal’s ambassador to France from March 1993 to December 1997. He was also associated with the Nepal Council of World Affairs. A team from the Metropolitan Police Range Singha Durbar and the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) reached the scene at around 8am after they were informed about the incident.

“Jha was stabbed with a kitchen knife, which was found near his body,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Basanta Kumar Lama, chief of the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu. He ruled out the death as suicide, arguing that nobody can stab oneself multiple times.

The MPCD, which is investigating the case, said there were signs that the room was broken into.

“The window net was cut a little in order to open the window,” said SSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh of the MPCD.

The three workers in Jha’s residence are in the MPCD custody for investigation. “The investigation has been intensified,” added SSP Singh.Jha was stabbed five times—twice in the neck and thrice in the head. The body was sent to the Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for an autopsy.