At least 12 people were injured in a clash that broke out in Biratnagar on Saturday during a funeral procession of a man who died in the course of a protest against the naming of Koshi province.

Six security personnel and six protesters sustained injuries in the clash that ensued during the funeral procession of Padam Bahadur Limbu. Limbu died on March 24 while undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during a demonstration in Biratnagar on March 19.

Superintendent of Police Deepak Pokharel said three Nepal Police personnel, three Armed Police Force personnel and six protesters sustained minor injuries in the clash.

Pokharel said police lobbed 81 teargas shells to take the situation under control in the clash triggered after protesters attempted to breach the restricted area.

Limbu’s body was taken to Biratnagar for a condolence assembly.

The activists advocating identity-based nomenclature have staged a series of protests against the provincial assembly’s decision to name the far-eastern province of Nepal as Koshi.