Several police personnel, including a high-ranking officer, have been killed in a violent clash that erupted in Kailali district on Monday. Police SSP Laxman Neupane, inspectors Bal Ram Bishta and Keshav Bohara, and policeman Lokendra Chanda are among the dead. DIG Pushpa Ram KC, spokesperson for Armed Police Force (APF), said: “Many APF men and Nepal police personnel have died, but we are yet not able to confirm how many.” The local administration had imposed a curfew from 2 p.m. Monday to prevent protests from spiraling out of control. But thousands of protesters defied the curfew and attacked police with spades, axes, slings, batons, stones and bricks.
Police also opened fire at protesters, leaving dozens of people injured. Details of fatalities are yet to come. In Kailali, the indigenous Tharu people have been enforcing an indefinite general strike for several days demanding an autonomous Tharuhat province. The Tharus have opposed the seven-province model of federalism that has put Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in the far-western province. They have demanded that these districts be part of the Tharuhat province. Kailali has been tense after the incident.
