Police arrested nine protesters including Dr Govinda KC from Maitighar for staging demonstrations at the prohibited area.

Police rounded up Dr KC, TU assistant professor Prem Chalaune, Rastriya Swatantra Party leader Pukar Bam, activists Lenin Bista, Shashi Bikram Karki, and Pawan Thapa among others and took them to Singha Durbar Police Circle. They were released after taking them into detention for some hours.

Earlier in November, the Kathmandu District Administration had declared the Maitighar-Baneshwar stretch prohibited for any kind of protests or gatherings.

“Police arrested us immediately after we reached there and while we just started to display the placards,” Chalaune told the Post over the phone from the Metropolitan Police Circle. “We were freed after being taken into detention for some hours.”

He said prohibiting the general public from protests at the area was the government’s undemocratic move. “Therefore, we must defy the prohibitory order and this has just started from today [Saturday],” he said.

In a statement earlier on Saturday, Dr KC had announced to stage a protest at Maitighar setting forth a number of demands. He has been fighting for years demanding radical reforms in the health and medical education sector.

The demonstrators demanded immediate conclusion of the transitional justice process, justice to the families of those who were killed, disappeared and injured during the decade-long Maoist insurgency.

They have also demanded that the people’s right to peaceful protests and assembly be restored and that the agreements reached between the government authorities and them on various occasions in the past be implemented sincerely.

Government authorities on various occasions in the past signed agreements with Dr KC pledging to introduce reform measures in the health and the medical education sector.