CHITWAN: The District Court in Chitwan has ordered Maoist leader Kali Bahadur Kham to be held in pretrial detention for the prosecution’s side in the murder case.

Kham has been arrested 15 years after the murder of Ramhari Shrestha.

Following a preliminary hearing to determine whether Kham should be detained, Judge Dayaram Dhakal issued an order on Friday for Kham to be held in pretrial detention for the prosecution in the murder case.

Although allegations were made against Kham, the main planner of Shrestha’s murder, he had not been arrested for 15 years.

He was apprehended in Thamel on Wednesday.

The other two accused, Keshav Adhikari and Gangaram Thapa, are still at large.

Kham faces charges in Kathmandu for illegal trade in contraband and unauthorized timber, along with charges of illegal arms possession in Rolpa.