Tikaram Gautam and Yam Bahadur BC of Birendranagar succumbed to bullet injuries.

The security personnel opened fire after the enraged protesters vandalised the house of Nepali Congress’s Joint General Secretary and former home minister Purna Bahadur Khadka. Police claimed the protest turned violent “due to the infiltration of some anarchists”.

The local people staged demonstration to protest the Saturday’s six-state pact on federalism, demanding undivided Mid-West and Birendranagar as its provincial capital. The protesters enforced banda in Birendranagar.

Chief District Officer Baldev Gautam said police were compelled to open fire to bring the situation under control after the protesters vandalised houses of political leaders, offices of the major political parties and government offices.

The houses of Khadka and lawmaker Hridayaram Thani were ransacked by the protesters, who also torched a bus, a tractor and two jeeps parked on the premises of Khadka’s house. Similarly, a dozer and a jeep belonging to Birendranagar Municipality were also set alight.

Following the violence, the local administration clamped curfew with effect from 1pm until 9pm. The protesters, however, continued their agitation in various places defying curfew orders. The agitation continued till the evening. More than 20 others, including security personnel, were injured in sporadic clashes.

The protesters went berserk after police ‘indiscriminate’ firing. Twelve demonstrators sustained bullet injuries in the clash. Aai Singh Rokka Magar, a media person affiliated with a local FM station, was also injured in the incident.

The party offices of Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) were ransacked and papers burnt, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Lal Karna said. He explained that the security personnel initially fired warning shots into air, adding that they were compelled to open fire as the protest only turned more violent.

More protests were reported in various districts of Bheri and Karnali zones, demanding a separate and undivided Mid-West. The protesters have enforced an indefinite banda in Rukum, Mugu, Kalikot, Jumla, Humla and Dolpa. The banda greatly affected normal life in the districts, also bringing the air services to a halt. Claiming that the identity of Karnali would be lost if the region was merged with the Far-West, the locals have warned to continue protest until their demand is met.

In Jumla, demonstrators vandalised the District Administration Office and a police van.  

More stirs in Tarai districts

In Saptari, supporters of Tarai Madhes Rastriya Campaign demonstrated against the agreement on federal set-up, claiming that the major political parties could not address the issues of Madhesi people.

Similarly, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik of Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts staged protests against the tentative agreement on state demarcation.

In Nawalparasi, locals announced an indefinite banda in protest of the decision to split the district. They also formed a struggle committee, demanding an undivided Nawalparasi.

In Jhapa, the Sanghiya Limbuwan Party-Nepal expressed dissatisfaction at the agreement of federal set-up to place 14 districts in state No 1. The party representatives demanded the state be declared a Limbuwan state.

In Kaski, there have been mixed reactions from civil society leaders to the four-party agreement to federate the country into six provinces.

Meanwhile, Surkhet chapter of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has expressed serious concern over the incident where local journalist Rokka Magar was injured in the police firing.

Demanding free treatment of the injured media person, the federation in a statement has urged the local administration, political parties and civil society for calm.

Incident occured while protecting lives, properties: Home Ministry

The Home Ministry has said that incident in Surkhet happened while protecting the lives and properties of people after thousands of people stormed party offices, municipality offices and houses of some political leaders.

The security forces charged baton, used teargas cell and fired warning shots into the air to take the situation under control, the ministry said in a statement, adding that eight people were injured of which three were referred to Nepalgunj hospital for treatment. “One Tikaram Gauram, 50, died in the course of treatment. A curfew has been imposed in the district from 1:30 to 9pm.”

Protesters, who came in their thousands, demolished the gate of District Administration Office in Surkhet and vandalised a CCTV camera, a television set and caused damaged to District Health Office, Land Survey Office, among others. The security forces tried to convince the protesters but they did not obey orders and started pelting stones to the security forces instead, said the ministry.

“Once the crowd was dispersed, it regathered and started storming offices of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML and set alight the government vehicles,” the statement reads.

“Later, they also pelted stone at the houses of lawmakers Purna Bahadur Khadka and Hridyaram Thani.”

Similarly, in Jumal, Chairman of Nepal Tarun Dal Laxman Shahi, leading a crowd of around 500 people, destroyed the main entrance of Jumla Campus and obstructed the B Ed level examination, said the ministry.

Four security personnel were injured in a scuffle while trying to remove the crowd from the campus premises. They destroyed and set half a dozen government vehicles on fire.