Over a dozen people were injured in a brief scuffle between police and locals in Sankhuwasabha district following a dispute over proposed center of local Dharmadevi Municipality on Wednesday.

The situation became tense after the security personnel took to baton-charge as the locals started staging demonstration demanding to make Mamgling, the gateway to Arun valley, as the center of municipality.  Police lobbed four rounds of teargas shells to contain the situation, while Armed Police Force personnel fired nine blank shots into the air.

Police constable Laxman Basnet was injured after the demonstrators hurled stones at the security personnel.

The security personnel reportedly swung into action after the locals hurled stones and broke the windowpanes of a passenger bus coming from Dharan, leading to the clash.  

Narayan Linkha, Sitaram Bhandari, Yadunath Nepal, Subash Poudel, and Kiran Rai, among other locals were injured.