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A curfew was imposed in the Birgunj Municipality of Nepal’s Parsa district on Saturday following violent clashes during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, authorities said.
The incident left several policemen and residents injured after stones were reportedly pelted at the religious gathering, triggering a confrontation between groups.
The District Administration Office imposed a curfew from Saturday 6:30 p.m. till Sunday noon in the central part of Birgunj, located near the Indian border town of Raxaul.
“A curfew order has been issued in Ward No. 14, 15, 16 and 25 of Birgunj Metropolitan City from 6:30 p.m. Saturday to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday as the tension erupted during the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations,” the District Administration Office said in a notice.
“Some policemen and local people have been injured during the dispute that occurred when the procession started from the Ghantaghar area heading towards other major parts of the metropolis,” said the police.
Police fired tear gas to restore order. With the eruption of tension, security has been beefed up in Birgunj.
The curfew order banned the movement of people, organising rallies, meetings, protests, and gatherings in central Birgunj.
Key person behind violent pro-monarchy protests in Nepal arrested
Police on Friday arrested the main person behind the March 28 pro-monarchy protests in Nepal’s capital that killed two persons.
Durga Prasai, who was involved in the violent protests of Tinkune, Kathmandu, was arrested from Jhapa district bordering India along with his bodyguard, Nepal Police said in a statement.
The violent protests last month left two persons, including a photojournalist, dead and over 110 others injured.
Prasai was charged with state offence and organised crime.
The Kathmandu District Court has given permission to the Nepal Police to keep Prasai in custody for 12 days for carrying out the necessary investigation.
According to media reports, Prasai was arrested in Assam by the local police there and handed over to Nepal Police, who brought him to Jhapa, where he was formally arrested.
However, there being no extradition treaty currently effective between Nepal and India, Prasai’s arrest in Assam was not disclosed, the report said.
The police had earlier arrested more than five dozen people, including General Secretary of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Dhawal Shumsher Rana and Vice-President Rabindra Mishra, for their involvement in the protests.
There have been a series of protests in Kathmandu and some other parts of the country by the pro-monarchists, including the RPP, demanding the reinstatement of monarchy and the establishment of Nepal as a Hindu state.
The police have already initiated legal action against RPP’s Rana, Mishra, and others under state offence and organised crimes, taking them into judicial remand with the order from Kathmandu District Court.
The RPP has been demanding an immediate release of the leaders and cadres of the party who were arrested in connection with the pro-monarchy protests.
Nepal’s political parties, through a Parliament declaration, abolished the 240-year-old monarchy in 2008 and turned the erstwhile Hindu kingdom into a secular, federal, democratic republic.
(With Inputs From ANI)
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