Families of two youths who died in a clash during Holi celebrations in Baglung on Sunday have refused to receive the bodies and demanded the arrest of the guilty at the earliest.

According to the District Police Office in Baglung, Prakash Kunwar, 36, and Dipak Pariyar, 34, of Nisikhola Ward No. 7 died in the clash that took place at Baldechaur in Badigad Rural Municipality ward no. 10.

“The bodies of the deceased were found 400 metres from the incident site. Six others have sustained injuries in the clash,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police in Baglung Ikawal Hawari.

The post mortem of the bodies was conducted in Burtibang-based Primary Health Centre on Monday.

“We were observing the Holi festival in a fair at Baldechaur. There was a minor dispute which later turned into a violent mob attack. A large number of people started to attack us using batons and stones. We don’t know the assailants,” said Mithu Pariyar, one of the injured individuals.

A video of the clash became public immediately after the incident but the police have not been able to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.

Following the incident, the deceased’s wife had filed a complaint at the Area Administration Office and Area Police Office in Burtibang demanding the arrest of the individuals captured in the video and investigation into the case.

On Monday, an 11-member team, including District Police Chief Krishna Bahadur Pallimagar, reached the incident site to take stock of the situation.

Chief District Officer of Baglung Shiva Kumar Karki has vowed to give full support to the police administration in their search for the suspects.

A few days ago, the local administration had issued a notice not to organise fairs during the Holi festival. But more than 600 individuals had attended the Holi fair at Baldechaur, which lies in the border of Baglung, Gulmi and Pyuthan district.

“The programme was organised without any coordination. We have started an investigation into the matter,” said Karki.