A day after the government decided to recognise the Tharuhat and Madhes protests as political movements and withdraw all the cases filed against those who were involved, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Secretariat on Friday said that cases related to heinous crimes will not be withdrawn.

Protests had erupted along the plains in the run-up to the constitution promulgation and continued for months.

At the height of Tharuhat protests in Tikapur of Kailali, seven police personnel and a child were killed in August 2015 in the worst incident of violence during clashes between protesters and security officials.

Thursday’s Cabinet decision to withdraw cases related to Tharuhat and Madhes movement had come as part of the government bid to ensure the agitating forces’ participation in second phase of local elections which is less than a month away.

The agitating Tharus and Madhesis, who objected to the government move of pressing criminal charges against their activists, have long been demanding that these cases be withdrawn.

However, the government decision to withdraw the cases met with severe criticism.

The statement by the PM’s secretariat on Friday made it clear that the decision to withdraw cases in relation to the Tharuhat and Madhes movements are applicable only to those who were not involved in the incidents of riots and killings including in Tikapur but were implicated in “false charges based on suspicion and prejudice”.