180KG HASH FOUND ALONG RIVER BED Kathmandu, 8 Oct.: Police found180 kilograms of marijuana on banks of the Rapti River in Manahari area on Monday morning, RSS reports from Ratnanagar, Chitwan.. Whilst the Gadhimai Battalion, Armed Police Force (APF), was patrolling at Bhandara, they found 13 packets of marijuana stuffed inside a sack on the river bank . Although the police searched for the marijuana smugglers, no one have been nabbed yet. Manahari area which straddles the hilly parts of Chitwan district and various hilly areas in Makawanpur district is a hotbed for marijuana smuggling. Nnnn JUDICIAL PROBE ON MURDER OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE BAM CLUELESS ON KILLERS Kathmandu, 8 Oct.: The judicial probe panel formed to probe the murder of Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam has concluded that the sitting justice was killed to threaten the judiciary, Ananta Luitelwrites in The Himalayan Times.. “This was nothing but a threat to the judiciary,” an official of the panel who was involved in preparing the report told The Himalayan Times today. According to him, they concluded thus after analysing evidences though they failed to identify the shooters. A three-member panel headed by Supreme Court Justice Prem Sharma was formed to look into the May 31 daylight murder in the capital. Deputy Attorney General Prem Raj Karki and erstwhile additional inspector general Ganesh Gurug were members of the panel. Declaring Bam a martyr, the government had formed the panel on June 15 to investigate the assassination committed just four days after the Constituent Assembly expired as per the November 25 verdict of the apex court. Citing the report which was ready to be submitted to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, the member informed that the murder was preplanned. According to him, the more than 360-page report is divided into two parts describing that the crime was not committed due to personal enmity, as there was no individual grudge against Justice Bam. The panel also ruled out that the crime was committed by those whose cases Justice Bam had decided. Former justice Sharma said the panel would make public its assessment soon after submitting the report to Prime Minister Bhattarai. “Though we were asked to submit the report today, we were later asked to approach the PM on another day as he was unwell,” Sharma added. Though the committee did not indict anyone, it indirectly said those who were not satisfied with the Supreme Court might have resorted to the murder to communicate their message to the Supreme Court. “We did not directly accuse anyone, but as various armed groups in the Tarai and other forces were not satisfied with the Supreme Court, the crime might have been committed by any of these groups,” the member said. “Targeting the judiciary after losing a case is quite common,” he added. The report said Justice Bam was easy to access compared to the other SC justices due to the action on corruption charge, so the culprits might have chosen him with the motive of creating confusion among the public. “They chose him because they were able to give the message that they were attacking a tainted judge. At the same time, they have also threatened the judiciary.” Noting that the judiciary had become the target of political forces and armed groups in the Tarai, the panel also suggested that the judiciary maintain its highest standard of impartiality and independence while deciding cases. Justice Sharma however said the culprits could come under the net of the law. The panel suggested that Nepal Police must continue with their efforts even if it takes many years. In the second part, the panel suggested improving security for judges and courts. The panel asked the government to provide judicial police, court marshall and separate joint-residential quarters for judges so as to avoid such incidents in future. Nnnn NTB WITHOUT CEO Kathmandu, 8 Oct.: Though it has been almost a year, members of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) are still clueless regarding its chief executive officer (CEO), The Himalayan Times reports. The chief executive’s post has remained vacant for about one year after the retirement of Prachanda Man Shrestha on October 31, 2011. “A board meeting will decide the three members among the five representatives from the private sector to form a subcommittee,” said director at NTB Aditya Baral. “In the last meeting, board members had decided to form a subcommittee in the next meeting but there has been no meeting till date,” he said. According to secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yajna Prasad Gautam, a chief executive for NTB can be selected within 15 days after the subcommittee is formed but there is lack of understanding within the private sector. “The private sector should come forward in mutual understanding and form a subcommittee at the earliest,” he said. Due to lack of coordination between board members, the NTB board had to face frequent stay orders from the Supreme Court regarding the member selection process. After the final verdict of the Supreme Court, the NTB board is finally complete with five members from the private sector. The apex court gave a verdict to reinstate the three board members of NTB — Pampha Dhamala, Phurba Gyalgen Sherpa and Tika Ram Sapkota. NTB consists of 11 board members — five each from the private and public sectors as it was established as a public private partnership. Members from the government are permanent, while membership from the private sector expires every three years. Along with the completion of board members, NTB is hopeful to get a new chief executive. Due to continuous conflict between board members, NTB has been left without a chief executive for about a year. According to the NTB board, it will resume the chief executive selection process with the previous applicants. Nnnn