Kathmandu. Police have arrested a youth who was arrested for robbing him in private on the pretext of exchanging dollars at a cheaper rate than the rate fixed by the Nepal Rastra Bank.

Sunaj Tamang, 28, of Bahrabise Municipality-3 in Sindhupalchowk district has been arrested on the charge of robbing people by showing dollars in different places of Kathmandu.

A police team deputed from the District Police Range, Kathmandu and Police Circle, Bouddha took him under control after firing bullets below the knee on the basis of information that he was robbing the police. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dilip Ghimire said that Tamang was arrested after he attacked the police with a knife.

As a warning, the police fired one round in the air from the pistol as a warning. Police said that they had to fire one round below the knee as per the need after assessing the situation. He is undergoing treatment at the National Trauma Center.

Nij Tamang was arrested eight times in the past on the charge of being involved in fraud and robbery by showing dollars. Investigations have revealed that in the recent past, he had looted money by showing gold in Swayambhu, Budhanilkantha and Sankhu areas.

Tamang has been monitoring guest houses, restaurants, gold and jewelry shops, hardware, medical, dairy, wholesale shops and other places and taking phone calls claiming to be old acquaintances with the contact numbers of these places.

Likewise, another member of his group used to play the role of ‘speech-disabled’ to convince the people who came in contact with him, used to send the fraudsters with dollars, changed the location to evade police surveillance and looted them in areas where there was no CCTV, police said.

Police confiscated a motorcycle used for the fraud and a fake number plate, four bundles of Rs 20 in Nepali currency, a bundle of white paper cut into the size of a dollar, five US dollars each kept below and above the bundle and one kilogram of fake gold from his possession.

He was found absconding after robbing Rs 1.6 million each from two people at Lasuntar of Gokarneshwor-12 on October 7.