Kanchanpur, Oct. 20 -- The body of Bipin Joshi, a 24-year-old from Kanchanpur who lost his life while held captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was brought to his home on Monday night-coinciding with the festival of Tihar-two years after his abduction.

When the coffin arrived late in the evening in a hearse from Dhangadhi Sub Metropolitan City, grief engulfed the entire neighbourhood. Bipin's father, Mahananda, mother, Padma, and sister, Pushpa, broke down as the coffin was carried into the courtyard. Relatives and neighbours could not hold back their tears.

Pushpa had spent the past two years pleading, "Please bring my brother home for Tihar-I will put tika on him." This year, as Tihar lights brightened homes across the cou...