It was Saraswati Puja, and 10-year-old Santosh Karki got up early to go to school and pay respects to the goddess of knowledge. At school, he also got the results for his Grade Two exams. He came first, and was overjoyed. It was while walking back to his home to tell his parents when he was caught in a hail of bullets fired by hired gunmen of Maoist Kavre committee adviser, Ratna Lama. Raja Ram Thapa and Ratna Lama had had an altercation about construction material that Lama had piled on the street. Lama's hitmen fired at Thapa, injuring him but a bullet also hit Santosh Karki in his back. Lama had mobilized ten gunmen from Kavre who arrived in motorcycles and shot at Thapa indiscriminately. Maoist Kavre district in-charge admitted Lama was retained as an advisor. Before rushing to school that morning, Santosh had asked his mother: "What will you give me if I come first in class?"