Basnet was arrested from Riverside Hotel in Itahari at 8:30 am by a police team led by Deputy Superintendent Bhim Dahal of Eastern Regional Police Office, Biratnagar. [break]
As the local administration in Biratnagar had issued prohibitory orders, the YAN chairman had traveled to Itahari to address a press conference where only a few journalists were invited. However, the journalists boycotted the press conference after Sunsari chapter of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) urged them to boycott the event.
Immediately after the journalists left, nearly 100 cops appeared in the scene and arrested Basnet. The cops and the YF cadres clashed for nearly 15 minutes before Basnet was arrested. Roshan Chapagain, a YAN cadre, was injured while trying to prevent the police from arresting Basnet.
Basnet has been detained at the Eastern Regional Training Center, Biratnagar, according to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Binod Singh.
Morang´s Chief District Office (CDO) Suresh Adhikari said Basnet had been arrested to thwart YAN´s scheduled demonstration. “Angry at not being able to stage a retaliation demonstration in Biratnagar, Basnet was likely to stage a demonstration elsewhere. This could have led to a nasty situation,” Adhikari said.
Protests against arrest
Following Basnet´s arrest, YAN and YF cadres briefly halted transport movement and forced closure of businesses in Itahari. They also damaged half-a-dozen vehicles while enforcing the shutdown, according to Area Police Office, Itahari. A nine-year-old kid, Pravin Limbu, was seriously injured while the cadres were pelting stones at the vehicles.
In Biratnagar, YF cadres attacked a bus (Ko 1 Kha 1639) carrying students of Sagarmatha Boarding School. One student sustained head injuries and was taken to Koshi Zonal Hospital for treatment.
The YF cadres and CPN-UML students´ wing All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) staged protests in several other parts of the country protesting Mahesh Basnet´s arrest.
In Kathmandu, the protestors torched two government vehicles, including a car belonging to the foreign ministry (Ba 1 Ja 5471) at Putalisadak and another belonging to Nepal Electricity Authority (Ba 1 Ya 1833) in front of Tri Chandra College, Ghantaghar.
The ANNFSU youth and YF cadres clashed with police at several places, including in Shanker Dev Campus. Dozens were injured after police entered the campus premises and classrooms and baton charged the protestors. A Reuters photojournalist, Navesh Chitrakar, was caught up in the clashes and injured. His camera was also damaged in the incident.
In Tansen, Palpa, YF cadres enforced a transportation strike for an hour.
Our correspondent from Lahan reported that YF cadres halted transportation along the Lahan section of the East-West highway protesting Basnet´s arrest.
In Butwal, protestors vandalized a vehicle belonging to Nepal Electricity Authority vehicle (Ba 1 Jha 164) at Pushpalal Park.
Likewise, in Hetauda, the protestors vandalized a newspaper shop for selling Nagarik daily.
Protests demanding Parshuram´s arrest
Meanwhile, local media houses in Surkhet have decided to run blank editorials on Friday to protest the delay in arresting Parshuram Basnet.
In Dharan, Limbuwan Youth Council took out a motorcycle rally demanding action against Parshuram.
Similarly, trade unions in Dhangadi affiliated to various political parties demanded action against Dhakal´s assailants. The trade unions said they are ready to take to the streets to press for action against Parshuram.
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