Siblings stabbed in Patan over wrong number dispute

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 10: Two men who were injured in a stabbing incident in front of the Krishna Mandir in Patan, Lalitpur, have died.

The victims, 26-year-old Srijan Nembang and his 33-year-old brother Sumit Nembang from Jhapa, were attacked with a knife on Wednesday night in Patan, Lalitpur. Both of them, who sustained critical injuries, were rushed to B&B Hospital for treatment, where they were pronounced dead.

Police have arrested the main suspect in connection with the incident. A team from Lalitpur Police detained Sanjeev Nepali and Gagan Sunar, according to Senior Superintendent of Police and Chief of Lalitpur District Police Range, Hobindra Bogati. 

According to SSP Bogati, Sanjeev allegedly stabbed Sumit multiple times in the neck and other parts of his body. When Sumit’s younger brother tried to intervene and defend him, he too was brutally attacked. 

Preliminary police investigations suggest the attack stemmed from a dispute after a phone call from the Nembang brothers accidentally connected to the suspect’s number. An argument reportedly ensued over the call, after which the brothers, who were residing in Imadol, went to meet Nepali at Krishna Mandir, where they were murdered. 

On Wednesday evening, when the Nembang brothers made a phone call, it reached Sanjeev’s mobile. They were strangers to each other. After receiving a call from an unknown number, they spoke briefly, during which an argument broke out. As the dispute escalated over the phone, Sanjeev asked the Nembang brothers to come to Patan, according to SSP Bogati. In response, the Nembang brother told Sanjeev that they were in Patan. 

Following this, the brothers, who reside in Imadol, went to Patan. During the encounter, Sanjeev, who works at a meat shop, arrived carrying a weapon used for cutting meat and attacked them, said police.