Tarai protestor killled in Birgunj, toll reaches 16

Protestors torch DDC office in Rautahat

UML office vandalized in Mahottari

PARSA/RAUTAHAT, Aug 31: Dilip Chaurasiya, 30, of Birgunj Sub-Metropolis-25, has succumbed to a bullet injury that he sustained during protests in Birgunj on Monday.

Chaurasiya, 30, breathed his last in the evening while he was undergoing treatment at Narayani Sub-Regional Hospital in Birgunj.

With his death, the total death toll in the protests staged against the proposed federal demarcations and various other issues in different parts of the country has reached 16. So far, eight policemen, seven protestors and a toddler have lost their lives.

Chaurasiya was injured in police shooting earlier in the afternoon.
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Over two dozen persons, including six policemen, were injured during the clash that erupted after irate protestors attempted to vandalize a police post at Nagwa in Birgunj. Seven protestors including two children were injured in the clash. The children, Irfan Ansari and Munna Yadav, were critically injured and are receiving treatment at Narayani Sub-Regional Hospital. Irfan sustained bullet injuries to the head and Munna was injured in the forehead and leg.

Police had opened fire with more than six dozen rubber bullets and lobbed over 100 teargas shells to bring the situation under control. After tensions between protesters and police did not abate despite police intervention, the local administration clamped an indefinite curfew order in the Birgunj area from 4 pm. The protesters, defying the curfew order, continued their demonstrations.

Anwar Hawari, Manoj Mahato, Mandip Gupta, Pramod Gupta, Sashi Gupta, Krishna Kumar Patel, Biraj Kushwaha, Manoj Kumar Yadav and Zakir Miyan were among the injured in the clash.

Meanwhile, Chief District Officer Keshav Raj Ghimire informed that the district administration office (DAO) imposed an indefinite curfew in Birgunj Sub-Metropolis area after the situation turned tense. "The curfew order shall remain effective until further notice," said Ghimire.

The protestors had resorted to vandalising a police post and different government offices, including Nepal Telecom, as retaliation for Sunday's incident.

Earlier on Sunday night, police had clashed with the protestors while the former were escorting vehicles carrying goods imported from India through Birgunj Customs Office at the Nepal-India border. Nine protestors including central leader Rajeshman Singh of Rastriya Samajbadi Party were injured in the incident. Police had lobbed three teargas shells and fired two rounds in the air.

Protestors torch DDC Office in Rautahat

Agitating cadres of the UDMF on Monday torched the office of the District Development Committee (DDC) in Gaur, district headquarters of Rautahat.

The technical section of the DDC was operating in the old building. Important documents of the DAO, mostly related to citizenship, and the furniture have turned to ashes, according to CDO Madan Bhujel.

Taking advantage of the absence of security personnel, the protesters set the government office ablaze after pouring in petrol through the window. Immediately after the arson started, a fire engine of Gaur Municipality was brought to douse the fire.

Anil Singh, a leader of the Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party, alleged that the government had turned a deaf ear to the ongoing agitation launched over the issues of the Madhesi people.

He informed that irate agitators took to arson after the government suppressed agitating groups through the use of force and the announcement of a 'riot-hit' zone, instead of addressing their demands, including compensation and declaration of Raj Kishor Thakur as a martyr. He was shot dead by police last week.

"We're investigating those involved in the arson. We'll take action against them," said SP Pradyumna Karki of DPO Rautahat.

Likewise, agitators vandalized and torched the CPN-UML district office in Jaleshwar, Mahottari. In Saptari, Muslims have also joined the ongoing protest, staging a mass demonstration at district headquarters,Rajbiraj.

Locals and cadres of the agitating UDMF have been staging demonstrations from Jhapa to Parsa in the eastern Tarai for 17 consecutive days to protest against the proposed demarcation of provincial boundaries and over other issues.