Public vehicles have stayed off the road due to the banda in Panchthar and adjoining Taplejung districts.[break]
Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) and various other organizations called the two-day banda demanding the withdrawal of the cases against the accused.
According to Birkha Bahadur Rai, the NEFIN Panchthar chapter chairman, they organized banda as a part of their phase-wise protest program against the arrest.
He argued that the arrest was an unfair and discriminatory act as the country has already been declared a secular state. He further added their protest would continue unless the arrestees were released.
On January 10, six locals Dal Bahadur Gurung, Deepak Angmo, Ramesh Nembang, Shuv Chandra Rai, Binod Nembang and Pramish Guragain were arrested on the charge of slaughtering cow.
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