A five-member committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday began investigating the communal violence in Sunsari’s Dewanganj Rural Municipality that left one person dead and 22 others, including security personnel, injured, as the local authorities imposed a curfew across parts of the district following fresh protests.

The five-member panel, formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and led by joint secretary Bhupendra Thapa, began its field investigation by visiting those injured in the police firing who are receiving treatment at Neuro Hospital and Nobel Hospital in Biratnagar. Later in the day, the committee held consultations with local stakeholders at the District Administration Office in Inaruwa.

The inquiry comes two days after violence erupted at Kaptanganj in Dewanganj Rural Municipality following a dispute between members of two communities during the annual Bolbam procession.

Police opened fire after the clashes escalated, fatally injuring Om Prakash Mehta, 30, who died while being rushed to hospital, and wounding several others. Police have maintained that they opened fire only after tear gas, baton charges and warning shots failed to disperse the crowd.

The incident has triggered widespread criticism of the security response, with human rights advocates and security experts questioning whether police used excessive force and whether there was a breakdown in command during the operation.

Superintendent of Police Bipin Regmi, a member of the investigation committee, said the panel had been instructed to submit its report within a week.

“We began our field investigation early Tuesday morning,” Regmi told reporters. “As the inquiry is underway, we cannot disclose further details at this stage.”

The government on Monday transferred Sunsari chief district officer Basudev Ghimire, Koshi Province Police chief Deputy Inspector General Binod Ghimire and Sunsari Police chief Keshav Kumar Thebe following mounting public pressure over the handling of the violence. Protesters had demanded action against both the district administration and police leadership.

The transfers, however, failed to calm tensions.

Fresh demonstrations broke out on Tuesday in Bhokraha Narsing Rural Municipality, Koshi Rural Municipality and Inaruwa Municipality, prompting the District Administration Office to impose a curfew from 3:30 pm until further notice.

Under an order issued by newly appointed chief district officer Ishwari Prasad Aryal all movement, public gatherings, rallies, demonstrations and meetings were prohibited within a four-kilometre stretch on either side of the Mahendra Highway from Pakali Chowk in Itahari to the Koshi Barrage bridge, as well as throughout the Inaruwa market area.

As the unrest spread, elected representatives from the affected local governments appealed for restraint. Gafar Ansari Miya, chair of Harinagar Rural Municipality; Ayub Ansari, chair of Koshi Rural Municipality; Ajmal Akhtar Azad, chair of Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality; and Bechen Prasad Mehta, chair of Dewanganj Rural Municipality, issued a joint appeal urging residents not to engage in vandalism, arson or any acts that could disrupt communal harmony. They also demanded an impartial government investigation and strict legal action against those responsible.

“We have initiated continuous dialogue with all stakeholders to maintain law and order and restore normalcy,” Aryal said, urging residents to comply with the curfew and remain indoors unless travel was absolutely necessary.

Dewanganj Rural Municipality chair Mehta said efforts were underway to resolve the crisis through dialogue, including an all-party meeting at the local level. “We are working to ease tensions through talks and consensus,” he said.

The latest restrictions follow an indefinite curfew imposed on Monday in parts of Dewanganj and neighbouring Harinagar Rural Municipality after violence spread beyond the original clash site. Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force, and the Nepali Army have since been deployed across the district. The army is conducting armoured vehicle patrols.

Sunday night’s violence began at around 10 pm in Kaptanganj after the annual Bolbam procession passed through the market playing loud music. Members of another community objected to the volume, leading to an argument that quickly escalated into a violent confrontation.

Police said officers responding to mediate the dispute came under attack from a crowd armed with stones, bamboo poles, sticks, spears and firewood.

According to police, 13 security personnel, including eight Nepal Police officers and five Armed Police Force personnel, were injured in the clash.

Police later opened live rounds to disperse the crowd.

Mehta, a farmer from ward 4 of Dewanganj Rural Municipality, was shot in the abdomen and died while being taken to hospital. Most of the other gunshot victims sustained injuries above the waist or knee, raising questions over whether security personnel followed the legal requirement to use only the minimum force necessary to restore order.

The Local Administration Act, 1971 and the Local Administration Regulations require security personnel to use firearms only as a last resort after other crowd-control measures have failed and adequate warning has been given.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health and Food Hygiene Nisha Mehta arrived in Biratnagar on Tuesday to assess the condition of those injured in the violence. She visited Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital, and Neuro Hospital, directing hospital administrations to ensure uninterrupted treatment for the injured.

Meeting the injured and their families, she assured them that the government would bear the necessary treatment costs and provide the required support. She added that the ministry was directly overseeing the care of those critically injured.

At a social harmony march organised in Duhabi on Tuesday, local resident Arjun Khadka urged the government to bring those responsible to justice and take measures to prevent similar incidents. The march, attended by local residents, civic leaders and Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, followed an all-party appeal issued by the District Administration Office calling for restraint and communal harmony.

In Kathmandu, Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane appealed to political parties and the public not to politicise the incident.

In a statement, Lamichhane warned against activities that could undermine Nepal’s religious and cultural diversity and urged people not to be influenced by rumours or provocative messages circulating after the violence.

The party also demanded an independent, impartial and time-bound investigation into the incident, legal action against those responsible, free treatment for those injured and adequate compensation for the family of the deceased.