"My right hand and leg still don't work even after prolonged treatment," he said ruefully. He was a LP gas dealer before he sustained severe injury in a clash with police personnel during the Madheh agitation.On September 7, Pandit had left his home in the morning to participate in the Madhes protests led by the agitating United Democratic Madesi Front (UDMF). He was returning home in the evening after participating in protest throughout the day. Another group was pelting stones at police personnel on his way home when he was beaten down after he could not run while being chased by the police.
"At first, two policemen blindly charged batons on me and others joined them later. Even after my continuous pleading, the beatings did not stop. I did not know when I fell unconscious. When I gained back my consciousness, I was in emergency room of Janakpur Zonal Hospital," said Pandit, recalling the incident.
He was referred to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital of the capital and then to Patna-based Paras Hospital of India for further treatment. "Although I have already spent Rs 140,000 so far, I still have not made full recovery," said Pandit. "Neither the agitating side, nor the government has offered me any help," he added.
Similar is the plight of Jageshwar Yadav of Kachuri-3, Dhanusa. He broke his right leg on September 11 after participating in protests while defying the curfew clamped by the local administration.
"I had been feeding my family of six by farming. Now that I'm injured during the harvesting season, there is no source of income for my family," he said. "The government should seriously address the demands of the Madesi people and put an end to this indefinite protests, which have brought nothing but pain for people like us," stressed Yadav.
Many protestors and police personnel have sustained injuries in Janakpur from August onward. Around 180 protestors have sustained injuries and majority of them are both physically and financially in bad condition, according to Binod Mahara, a human rights activist who has been closely watching the Madhes movement from the beginning.
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