Govt declares four Sunsari, Siraha protest victims martyrs
Cabinet also exempts electric ambulances and hearses from VAT and clean infrastructure charge, agrees to Portuguese consular office
Published: 05:18 pm Aug 11, 2026
KATHMANDU, AUGUST 11 The government has declared four people killed during recent protests in Sunsari and Siraha as martyrs, while also approving tax exemptions for electric ambulances and hearses and deciding to make public a report on the Ncell share transaction. The decisions were taken at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, according to government spokesperson and Education Minister Sasmit Pokhrel. The Cabinet declared Om Prakash Mehta, Jay Prakash Mehta and Rabindra Kumar Mehta of Sunsari, and Ganesh Kumar Yadav of Siraha as martyrs. In another decision with public-health implications, the government agreed to fully exempt electric ambulances and hearses imported into or produced in Nepal from the clean infrastructure investment charge and value-added tax. The Cabinet also approved a request by the Portuguese government to open a consular office in Kathmandu. Similarly, Nirmal Kumar Upreti of Bara has been appointed executive director of the Foreign Employment Board. In a move concerning the controversial Ncell share transaction, the government decided to make public the 2080 report of the study and investigation committee led by former Auditor General Tankamani Sharma Dangol on the purchase and sale of Ncell shares.