BIRATNAGAR, Nov 26: A man suffered serious burn injuries in Morang district Thursday when agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) cadres set fire to a can of petrol he was bringing from India.
Bablu Rajbanshi, 28, of Bhathigachha-7 sustained the burns as a group of UDMF cadres torched a can containing 15 liters of petrol at Ram Janaki Chowk, two kilometers from his home.
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Local protestors struggled with Rajbanshi for a while to snatch the petrol. One of the protestors then cut the can with a knife and the petrol started pouring out and all over his body. That was when another protestor set the petrol on fire and Rajbanshi also started catching fire, according to Dinesh Yadav, an eyewitness who helped douse the fire.
“I used water to douse the fire but it didn't work, so I covered him with a jute sack,” said Yadav.
The injured Rajbanshi was rushed to Biratnagar on his own motorbike for medical treatment. He suffered 45 percent burns to his body, according to Dr Ravi Bastakoti of Koshi Zonal Hospital. He was then referred to Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS).
Rajbanshi is undergoing treatment at the burns unit at BPKIHS.
Meanwhile, District Police Office (DPO) Morang chief, SP Tarini Prasad Lamsal, informed that the police are searching for those involved in the incident. As per the DPO, Jugeshwar Mukhiya, Jitendra Mukhiya and Ajay Sah of Bhathigachha VDC-2 are accused of involvement.
They will be charged with attempted murder, on the basis of complaints by the Rajbanshi family, according to SP Lamsal.
The victim's brother, Ranjit Rajbanshi, told Republica that Bablu had brought the petrol for his motorbike and for his friends.
Achhelal Rajbanshi, another eyewitness, said, “Had we not been there, Bablu would have died.”
