23 days on, Nepali official's body in limbo in London

Kathmandu - The London Paralympics Committee has warned that it would perform the last rites of a Nepali official who died during the 2012 London Games if it does not hear from the man’s kin by Tuesday.

Man Bahadur Lopchan, 45, allegedly committed suicide Sep 10 by hanging himself in London. He was rushed to hospital, where he failed to respond to treatment, Xinhua reported.

Issuing a letter to the Nepali foreign ministry Thursday, the London committee said it would be compelled to perform the final rites of Lopchan as the Nepali side has failed to provide information regarding the victim’s kin to receive the body upon its arrival at a Nepali airport.

Since then, the body is being preserved at a London agency for the last 23 days as Lopchan’s family are adamant that they would not receive the body unless the authorities probe into the “mysterious” death and book the guilty.

Xinhua said the family claimed that Lopchan was murdered in London as he raised the issue of “irregularities” in the Nepali National Paralympics Committee.

But no evidence has been furnished so far, and the hospital had declared that Lopchan died of hypoxic brain injury caused by short-supply of oxygen to the brain.