(Updated at 1742 NST, 1157 GMT, with cameraman´s and press conference organizers´ names)
KATHMANDU, Jan 4: Unidentified attackers beat up journalists and priests who had gathered Sunday afternoon for a press conference at Pashupatinath complex on the recent priest appointment controversy. Two people injured in the incident have been hospitalized for treatment. Among them is Kedar Man Bhandari, a priest. The victims said Maoist-affiliated cadres were behind the attack. [break]
Construction of Chhathi Mai Puja sites underway at Pashupatinat...
The Bhandaris who have formed Tardition, Religion and Culture Preservation Committee, were about to start the press conference when the assailants disrupted the conference by beating up the participants.
Locals pointed their fingers at Young Communist League (YCL) cadres. They have also identified Ramesh Dangol of Maoist ethnic wing, the Newa Mukti Morcha. Dangol was involved in the attack.
The assailants said that no one can organize press conference on the issue. They also snatched cameras of photojournalists and TV crew and threw them on the ground. The police stood as mere spectators while the attackers left the scene. Cameraman Tek Bahadur Khadka of Nepal TV was injured in the attack. His camera was broken as well by the attackers.
