By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, July 23: Spending eight years and six months behind bar for murdering his wife, former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Armed Police Force (APF) Ranjan Koirala was freed from the Dilli Bazaar-based jail on Thursday.

According to jailer Ganesh Acharya of Dilli Bazaar Jail, Koirala was released from the jail this morning upon a verdict of July 18, 2020 of the Supreme Court, after completing eight years and six months jail.

He was sentenced a lifetime imprisonment upon the order of the then Appellate Court, Patan, and the District Court of Kathmandu on January 22, 2012.

But Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and judge Tej Bahadur KC of the Apex Court gave the verdict with its full text prepared within 15 days of the order, to slash his lifetime imprisonment to eight and a half years.  

The SC's verdict mentioned that the lifetime jail sentence announced against Koirala became costly for him.' The SC also termed that the order of the Appellate and the District Court relevant but the lifetime jail term given to him as inappropriate.

Eight and a half years ago, Koirala had murdered his wife Geeta Dahakal and had taken the body to a forest of Tistung Palung in Makwanpur district by packing it in plastic and burnt the body there using petrol.

The joint bench of the Chief Justice and Justice KC announced the verdict in favour of defendant Koirala based on the section 188 of the new National Civil (Code) Act, 2017.

The SC had even ordered the District and Appellate Courts to release all the properties seized then as the new National Civil Code Act doesn't have a provision of confiscating all the properties if any person was sentenced for lifetime imprisonment.

Late Dhakal had given birth to two sons. Koirala and late Dhakal had tied their nuptial knot in 1993.

Before the crime, late Dhakal had also lodged a complaint against Tara Regmi for having extra marital relationship with her husband Koirala. During the time of the incident, police had even detained Regmi and the court had also slapped one year jail term against her.

Police had recovered charred body of Dahakal on January 12, 2012.