By Our Reporter Seventeen years after he brutally killed a businessman in Koteshwor, Maoist leader Kali Bahadur Kham has been arrested from Thamel of Kathmandu. Kham, who was accused of murdering businessman Ramhari Shrestha, was arrested on Tuesday. He was on the run after committing the crime. After arresting him in Kathmandu, he was taken to Chitwan, as his case was filed in Chitwan District Court. After the then-rebel Maoists joined mainstream politics in 2006, Kham, who was a Maoist commander then, had set up a contact office on the second floor of Shrestha's house in Koteshwor. However, on April 27, 2008, businessman Shrestha was kidnapped from Koteshwar. Shrestha was abducted and kept in the then-Maoist camp at Shaktikhor in Chitwan. On March 27, 2008, Rs. 1.7 million was stolen from Shrestha's house. After that, businessman Shrestha became the target of Maoist commanders. Shrestha was abducted under Kham's instructions and was taken to Shaktikhor by Govinda Bahadur Batala alias Jibit. Maoist combatants beat Shrestha mercilessly and on n May 10, 2008, Shrestha’s body was found in the Narayani River. Shrestha's wife Ramila filed a complaint with the police saying that her husband was kidnapped and murdered. Along with Kham, a murder case was filed against Govinda Bahadur Batala, Keshav Adhikari, Gangaram Thapa and Arjun Karki. The District Court Chitwan announced a verdict on May 11, 2011, against them, according to which Batala was sentenced to three years in prison. Kham, Adhikari and Thapa were absconding and their case was adjourned. In the case of Karki, a fine of just Rs. 20 was slapped. The Public Prosecutor's Office appealed against the District Court's decision. However, the Appellate Court in Hetauda upheld the decision of the District Court on January 19, 2014. The case then reached the Supreme Court, and on March 1, 2020, the Supreme Court acquitted Batala.