KATHMANDU, May 5: A person was killed in a clash with YCL cadres in Makawanpur on the fourth day of the indefinite Maoist general strike on Wednesday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Sudip Karki, 23, of Manahari VDC-4, Simpani. A medical shop owner by profession, Karki was a village committee member of CPN-UML-affiliated Youth Force (YF).[break]
In the clash, over a dozen persons including Harischandra Shah were injured. The names of the injured were sketchy as the clash continued till late night.
According to the police, Karki breathed his last after the Maoist cadres hit a group of YF cadres who reached Lothar bazar with stones. Karki died of head injuries while undergoing treatment at Bharatpur Medical College, Chitwan.
Karki along with other youth had reached Lothar after asking shopkeepers in Manahari bazar to open their businesses. The shops remained shut down due to the Maoists indefinite strikes. Lothar borders Chitwan and Makawanpur.
A large number of youths from Simpani reached Lothar after Karki´s death and clashed with the Maoists. Dozens of Armed Police Force personnel have been mobilized to rein in the situation.
Meanwhile, the Maoist general strike saw a remarkable rise in defiance by parties and locals Wednesday while the agitating Maoists turned more confrontational. Vandalism raged throughout the country.
Clash in Bhaktapur
Youth Force held a mass meeting at Sukuldhoka in Bhaktapur in the morning against the strike and urged locals to go about their normal routines. The Maoists later accused the Youth Force of opening fire on a rally staged almost simultaneously by the former. A used cartridge and four live rounds with a magazine were found at Toulachhe near Sukuldhoka.
As a bullet mark was found on the wall of a roadside house, police said there was at least one gunshot but did not elaborate, given the ongoing investigations. Later in the afternoon, YCL and the Youth Force organized separate press meets and blamed each other. The Youth Force said it was only a self-inflicted provocation by the YCL.
NC-UML, Maoists clash
The Maoists clashed with supporters of the CPN(UML) and Nepali Congress in Humla at noon. The one-and-half hour clash left a Maoist cadre, Bijaya Bhandari, injured. Supporters of the two parties were returning home after submitting a memorandum at the District Adminstrative Office when they met the Maoists. The Maoists reportedly attacked the rival party supporters as the latter had been protesting the general strike and extortion terror.
In Dhankuta, a clash ensued between YCL and Youth Force cadres which reportedly took to the streets urging locals to open the market. Rallies by both sides had turned violent during an encounter at Hospital Chowk. Two YCL cadre were injured.
Tension in Kathmandu
Locals of Satungal VDC in Kathmandu opened the bazaar in the morning in defiance of the strike. The locals had staged a huge demonstration against the Maoists Tuesday after the agitators beat up a local riding a bike. Three Maoists were injured in the clash with locals.
Maoists mercilessly thrashed a group of locals at Sinamangal Wednesday evening after they overheard the latter talking about the difficulties they were facing during the general strike. Police intervened and dispersed the agitators before rescuing the locals. Two injured locals -- Savi Tandukar, 40, and Buddhi Bahadur Tamrakar, 41, were rushed to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, Sinamangal. Both are said to have sustained critical injuries.
Similarly, one Sharada Nanda Chaturbedi was thrashed and held by the Maoists at Galkupakha. Police later rescued him.
The Maoists battered Kishor Shrestha, 21, from Nuwakot, at Gongabu. Shrestha was rescued by police and held at their Maharajgunj unit after treatment.
The Madhesi People´s Right Forum (Democratic) and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party together opened Raninagar bazaar at Triveni Susta-6 in Nawalparasi this morning. The FNCCI local chapter and locals collaborated to staged a rally in Mechi Municipalty and succeeded in opening the market.
Nepal Police said there were 21incidents of defiance against the general strike over the four days of the strike.
Bank looted
Maoists looted Nirjan Utthan Bank at Bharatpur in Chitwan at 3:45 pm. They ran off with a laptop, four desktop computers and a telephone set.
Vandalism
The agitators continued their vandalism in different parts of the country. They vandalized and torced motorcyles in Jhapa, Kaski, Siraha, Kanchanpur and Chitwan districts, and also attacked the owners of vehicles for defying the strike.
The Maoists attacked a private school in Sarlahi. They barged into Sangeeta Boarding School at Ranigunj-8 for running classes during the strike.
Fourty major cases of vandalism and nine cases of manhandling and kidnap by Maoists were reported throughout the nation during the ongoing general strike.
Butwal remained tense Wednesday evening after agitators torched a police unit at Butwal-5 and vandalized another unit at Amarpath. The police fired tear gas shells during the clash with agitators.
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