Nepal

Police thrash and injure protesting female volunteers

Police thrash and injure protesting female volunteers

By Rishi Baral

A policeman charges batons towards activists of Tarun Dal during a protest at New Baneshwar, Kathmandu, on Saturday, July 21, 2018. Photo: Skanda Gautam/THT

POKHARA: Three female social volunteers in Gandaki State sustained injuries after security personnel on Wednesday intervened with brutal force in a volunteer’s protest in front of State Chief Minister’s Office in Pokhara. Police charged batons and heels at the female volunteers who were staging a protest demanding job reinstatement. The injured have been identified as Secretary of Social Volunteers’ Association of Gandaki Bhawana Shrestha, Sangita Bhandari of Kaski and Sachina Kumari Sharma of Parbat. All three are undergoing treatment for head injuries at Gandaki Medical College. Police used brute force and thrashed protestors with batons and heels. Authorities have not bat an eye despite the volunteers relaying information on use of brutal force by police to both Nepal Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), according to a female volunteer. The protesting volunteers were chanting slogans outside a protest ban area. Police intervened at the site, a third intervention in 18 days.