KALIKOT, Dec 24: Temporary police of Kalikot who were staging protests accusing the District Police Office (DPO) of misappropriating the budget meant for their salaries have intensified their protests after the death of a fellow temporary policeman on Friday. Irked temporary cops and relatives of the deceased imposed a general strike in the district headquarters, Manma, on Saturday.
DAO extends curfew in Kalikot
Bibek Aidi, 20, of Raskot Municipality ward no.2 was apparently shot in the head by security personnel during a clash on Friday. Temporary cops had picketed the DPO expressing disappointment towards their pay cuts and deprivation of other perks. In order to disperse the crowd, police had lobbed tear gas shells and even baton-charged the protesters. As all of their efforts turned ineffective, police had opened fire which killed Aidi, according to the locals.
The protesters have put demanded that Aidi be declared a national martyr. Besides that, they have demanded stern action against the Chief District Officer and the Deputy Superintendent of Police. No vehicle could move through the Karnali Highway the whole day and even the hotels, shops and offices were shut down.
As the number of police personnel was low in the DPO, hundreds of security personnel's from Surkhet and Jumla were brought in by the administration to prevent any kind of untoward incident.
As per the provision, temporary cops were assured a salary of Rs. 64,000 each. However, the DPO only paid Rs. 55,000 each to the temporary cops who took to the streets in protest. They lament that the DPO has cut their pays by including unnecessary charges. The DPO had already charged Rs. 3,000 for the uniform of each temporary cop but the same amount was deducted from their salaries for the uniform.
Hari Bahadur Aidi, father of the deceased has said that he won't receive the dead body of his son until the culprits are nabbed. After his death, temporary police personnel destroyed four police posts of the district headquarters on Friday.
On the other hand, the DPO has been claiming that Aidi was killed by a stone pelted by a fellow cop. As many as 973 temporary cops were recruited in the district for the elections.
