by Christopher Sharma

Sanjaya Islami Magar killed Judge Rana Bahadur Bam in 2012 and then fled to Saudi Arabia. There he changed his name and began to teach the Koran. Islamic leaders in the kingdom oppose extradition because he has converted many Hindu Nepalese workers. Converted emigrant: "He presented himself as a Muslim. I only just discovered that he is using the faith as a mask to cover his murder".

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – A "red" international arrest warrant,  Interpol’s highest level of alert, has been issued to Saudi police who arrested Sanjaya Magar Islami, accused of having murdered the Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam Nepalese in May 2012 (in the picture). But leaders of the Islamic kingdom are opposed to the extradition, arguing that the murderer is an important preacher of Islam and has converted many Nepalese Hindus to the dictates of the Prophet.

Magar, a native of the central district of Ramechhap in Nepal and known by the nickname of Bhagwan, was part of the commando of assailants who on the morning of May 31, 2012 drew alongside the judges car at the Park One of Lalitpur and killed him.  In January this year four other accomplices were arrested, including a former leader of  theChure Bhawar Rastriya Party of Nepal.

Magar however, managed to escape to Saudi Arabia, he first forged documents and started working as a truck driver. Then he continued his fugitive teaching Islamic doctrine, earning the favor of the Muslim leaders of the Saudi monarchy. In January 2015, the Interpol has issued a notice of type "red" for his capture of Arabia and the police arrested him in March.

A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation of Nepal (CIB) traveled this week to the kingdom to custody of the accused and bring him back to Nepal for trial. Kiran Bajracharya, spokesman for the CIB, told AsiaNews: "Our investigations have confirmed his role as executor of the murder. We have requested the extradition from Saudi Arabia, but in the beginning we were refused on grounds he was now a religious. Then thanks to Interpol and diplomatic channels, the authorities in Riyadh have agreed to Magar’s extradition. So one of our team will bring him back in the coming days. "

A government official in Kathmandu, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that "the Saudi Islamic leaders converted Magar and used him to convert migrant workers from Nepal. This goes against international law. "

Finally Rupesh Magar, a Nepalese migrant, confirms that the murderer was studying the Koran and taught it: "Even I was converted by him, along with many of my friends. He usually preached in several mosques and presented himself as a Muslim. I only just discovered that he is using the faith as a mask to cover his murder. This is why many local faithful defended him and opposed his arrest".

• NEPAL
• suadi
• arabia
• extradition
• murder
• judge
• islam