An unidentified group hurled black ink at Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ganesh Paudel on Thursday night while he was attending a public outreach programme in Nepal’s southern Rautahat district, police said.

Paudel, who represents Rautahat constituency No 4 in the House of Representatives, was targeted at the venue of the ‘Janatasanga Sansad’ (MP with the People) programme in Parsa village in ward 4 of Gadhimai Municipality shortly after the event had concluded.

According to the lawmaker, the incident occurred as he was putting on his shoes before leaving the venue.

“I was putting on my shoes after the programme when a few people threw ink at me from behind and fled,” Paudel said. “I could not identify who they were. I have already informed the police.”

Paudel has been touring his constituency over the past week, holding meetings and public interactions with residents as part of the outreach campaign.

Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal said investigators have identified those involved in the attack and expect to arrest the suspects soon.

No injuries were reported in the incident, and police have not yet disclosed a possible motive behind the ink attack.