Situation in Barahathawa, a marketplace in Sarlahi, remained tense throughout Sunday with no end in sight to the protests and demonstrations that started on Friday following the death of a man in police firing.

Jaya Shankar Sah, aged 29, died during a violent clash between police and protesters on Friday. A curfew was enforced following his death.

The local administration extended the curfew put in place but protesters continued demonstrations. They have kept the body of the deceased on the streets with them as part of their protest.

The curfew has been extended till 8am on Monday after protests escalated again on Sunday.

The demonstrators set a thatched house on the premises of the Barahathawa Area Police Office on fire. Police then lobbed a dozen teargas shells and fired into the air to contain the situation.

Demonstrators have been protesting with a nine-point charter of demands including declaration of the deceased as a martyr, suspension of police officers involved in the incident, and resignation of Barahathawa Municipality Mayor Kalpana Kumari Katuwal, among others.

On Saturday, the district administration office imposed a 24-hour prohibitory order in the market area after the protest continued on the second day as well.

The municipality’s executive committee meeting on September 26, 2023, decided to upgrade the 15-bed primary health centre to a 50-bed hospital and hand it over to the Madhesh provincial government. However, the municipality backtracked its decision on January 2, which sparked the protests.