CAPITAL RECORDS 1.3MM RAINFALL Kathmandu, 19 Jan. The capital recoded 11.3mm rainfall overnight in the first Maghe jhari or rain in Magh indicating springis around the corner. Sun broke in the afternoon after overnight conditions Saturday morning. The temperature was 5 degrees Celsius iin the morning. Mercury is expected to rise to 19 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. nnnn SIX MORE MAOISTS SUSPECTED OF INVOLVEMENT IN JOURNALIST MURDER CASE Kathmandu.19 Jan : Six more individuals have been found involved in the abduction and murder of journalist Dekendra Thapa, said police in Dailekh on Friday, Khalendra Sejuwl, Giovinda KC write in Republica from .Surkhet, Dailekh. While giving their statements to Dailekh police, five Maoist cadres arrested in connection with the Thapa murder case nearly two weeks ago have implicated six more individuals. The police have not yet disclosed their names.of the additional six involved in one of the most blatant attacks against journalists during the Maoist insurgency. With the new disclosure, the number of those involved in Thapa´s abduction and murder has now reached 15. Earlier, in a written complaint lodged at Dailekh District Police Office, Thapa´s wife Laxmi had identified only four people as being involved in her husband´s murder. Of the four identified by Laxmi Thapa, only Lacchi Ram Gharti Magar, a resident of Dwari VDC-1 of Dailekh, has been arrested so far. Four others - Bir Bahadur KC, Nirak Bahadur Gharti Magar, Jay Bahadur Shahi and Hari Lal Pun - were not originally identified by Laxmi. They were arrested on the basis of the preliminary statement given by Lachhi Ram. Three of the accused identified by Laxmi - Bam Bahadur Khadka ´Arun´, Bam Bahadur Khadka ´Mukti´ and Keshav Khadka - are still at large. According to Inspector Binod Sharma, who is now investigating Thapa´s murder, those whose names have cropped up are living in Kailali, Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet and Kathmandu. “We have failed to arrest them straight away as they are outside Dailekh,” he said. Khadka duo took voluntary retirement In yet another disclosure in the Thapa murder case, it has been found that two accused who have the same name of Bam Badhaur Khadka (and distinguished by the pseudonyms Arun and Mukti) had chosen voluntary retirement from the cantonments for Maoist combatants. Earlier, one of them was reported to have been inducted into the national army along with other former rebels. According to a source, both of the Khadkas had been living in the 6th division contoment at Dasharathpur. Bam Badhaur Khadka aka Arun, whose identification number provided by the United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) was SK000982, was a platoon commander before he went for voluntary retirement. As per his UNMIN ID card, Arun had gone underground as a rebel on 4 December, 2004. Bam Badhaur Khadka aka Mukti had gone underground on June 1, 1999. His UNMIN ID number was 014664 and he was battalion vice-commander before taking voluntary retirement. “Both of them were named categorically in the police complaint filed in the Thapa case but were living in the cantonment without any problems,” said a former rebel commander. “Some of their comrades had raised thier voice regarding the allegations but they did not face any problem because of the party´s support,” he said. nnnn UML TEAM TO LEAD ANTI-GOVT. CAMPAIGN Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The CPN-UML has formed a four-member coordination committee to steer the three-month “national unity and people awareness” campaign to expose the government´s wrongdoings, Republica reports.. The two-day standing committee meeting that concluded on Thursday formed a coordination committee under party general secretary Ishwar Pokharel. The party´s three secretaries -- Yubaraj Gyawali, Bishnu Paudel and Shankar Pokharel -- are members of the committee. "While the party will be actively leading the joint agitation of the opposition alliance, we will also take the party´s own campaign ahead simultaneously," Shankar Pokharel told Republica. "The party will use all its strength in the campaign and the coordination committee has been formed to make the campaign effective." Also, the standing committee formed a three-member team headed by the general secretary with a mandate to intensify the campaign for reuniting with party leaders and members who had left the party in the past. Two secretaries Gyawali and Pokharel are other members of the team. "Some senior as well as other members have left the party for minor reasons and this team will arrange entry of those who want to return to the party," said Pokharel. According to him, they will also welcome dissatisfied Maoist cadres into the party. He claimed that a large number of dissatisfied Maoists want to join UML. Making some proposals for amendments to the party statute, UML has decided to end the two-tier membership system. While there was a system of general membership and organized membership, now the party will issue single type of membership. "But we will strictly filter the membership because the membership will be confirmed only after a one-year probation period," he said. The standing committee floated the amendment proposals as the party is planning to hold a gathering of council members to be attended by party representatives from across the country. Such a convention is mandated to make amendments to the party statute. Nnnn