Tensions escalated in Koshi Rural Municipality, Sunsari, on Thursday after local Bijay Sah died when the Armed Police Force personnel opened fire.

Sah, 45, was killed on the spot in the early hours of Thursday during an operation to control smuggling, police said.

Deputy Inspector General Kumar Neupane of the Armed Police Force’s Baraha Battalion in Pakali said the police clashed with people carrying smuggled goods from the border area on auto rickshaws.

“Sah died as a result of retaliatory action after the people involved in smuggling attacked the armed police team,” Neupane said. “When our team tried to stop and seize goods being brought illegally from India, they attacked the police, prompting retaliatory firing. One person died in the incident.”

Earlier, it was reported that Sah died in a shooting by an unidentified gang.

Following the shooting, locals staged protests in Laukahi Bazar, blocking the East-West Highway with the body of the deceased and setting fire to the Armed Police Force post. Local residents also pelted stones at police, who fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

Locals demanded an impartial investigation, punishment for those responsible, and compensation for the victim. Deputy Superintendent of Police Chandra Bahadur Khadka of the District Police, Sunsari, said authorities were negotiating with the victim’s family to reopen the blocked highway.