Rohit Sah, 22, one of the youths kidnapped and murdered in Sitamarhi, India, was in close contact with one of the abductors before the incident, police said on Monday.

On January 11, Rohit of ward 8 and 23-year-old Bishnu Sah of ward no 13 of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City had gone to Parihar in India to visit Rohit’s relatives. While they were in India, the Sah duo were kidnapped and killed.

Police in Nepal have arrested two individuals in connection with the incident. On Sunday, Dhanusha Police arrested 24-year-old Kishan Pandit of Itarhawa in Mahottari’s Siswa Municipality from Balwa in Janakpur. Police also arrested Pandit’s friend, Mukesh Paswan, 24, from Itarhawa.

An investigation following the arrests has shown that Rohit and Kishan were friends and had travelled to India together multiple times, police said.

“The investigation showed that they were not old friends but had made acquaintances recently. Their phone records show the two had been in contact frequently,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Dipak Raya of the Dhanusha District Police Office. “The SIM card used by Kishan has been registered in another person’s name.”

The two youths were murdered in the Indian border town 11 days after being abducted while their family was bargaining and negotiating with the kidnappers over ransom money.

Dhanusha Police brought the bodies of the deceased to Nepal on Monday after confirming with their family that both of them were Nepali citizens.

Their funeral rites were performed in Janakpur on Monday.

In connection with the case, four out of five individuals have been arrested on murder charges in India.

According to Sitamarhi Sub-Divisional police officer Suvodh Kumar, other individuals arrested in connection with the case are Sunil Sahni and Ajit Bhandari of Rajbada in Sitamarhi district, and Indrajit Baitha and Ajay Baitha of Suki Musharania village.

Kumar said that Sujit Bhandari, the main accused in the case, is absconding.

Kumar added that the abduction and murder of both the Nepali youths were done for ransom and that the Bihar Police has been able to establish a connection between Kishan and those arrested in India.

The Indian police, based on the statement from the accused, also conducted a search at the place where the bodies were buried.

“The accused have admitted their involvement in the murder,” said Kumar of Bihar Police. “During the investigation, the names of some other people from Nepal and India have also come up.”

On Monday, locals blocked the Janakpur-Dhalkebar road section and also staged a sit-in at the District Police Office demanding that the absconding suspect be arrested and action be taken immediately against the culprits.