The Sarlahi District Administration Office has imposed a 24-hour prohibitory order in the Barahathawa market area.

Issuing a notice on Saturday, the local administration said that the decision had been taken to avert any untoward incidents following the death of a youth during protests on Friday. The order will be in place until 8am on Sunday.

“A prohibitory order has been enforced from 8am today [Saturday] till 8am on Sunday in view of the possible risks of vandalism of public and private property, disruption in law and order, arson, and riots,” reads the notice signed by Chief District Officer Komal Prasad Dhamala.

Any kind of meeting, or political gatherings are banned in the stated areas. The order also bars people from walking around the prohibited areas.

A curfew had been enforced in the Barahathawa market area on Friday after 30-year-old Jai Shankar Sah died during a clash between police and protesters.

Protesters have refused to let authorities collect the body of the victim, putting forth several demands. They have demanded that the local administration hold talks regarding the incident, punish the accused, and a statue of the victim be installed in the locality.

The protesters have also asked that Municipality chair Kalpana Kumari Katuwal resign from the post, and Deputy Superintendent of Police deputed in Barahathawa be suspended.

Tension ran high all day on Friday in Barahathawa after agitators vandalised the municipal office and Municipality chair Katuwal’s house, which is close to the municipal office. The protesters also set a motorcycle on fire.

The protest was organised by locals against the Barahathawa Municipality’s decision to hand over a 15-bed primary health centre to the provincial authorities.

Police lobbed tear gas shells and fired gunshots into the air to disperse an unruly crowd that had gathered outside the municipality’s office.