Rajbiraj, December 31 Tension remained high at Saptari’s Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality office today after locals picketed and staged a sit-in at the office protesting the delay in releasing social security allowance. Two hours after the RM office was opened, tension started building up as locals chanting slogans against the RM Chairperson Surya Narayan Mandal and Deputy Chair Usha Mandal started gathering at the office, citing the rural municipality’s act of withholding social security allowance for the past six months. After the irate beneficiaries and their kin shut the mayor and deputy mayor in their offices for around one hour, police used normal force to disperse a crowd of around 400 people. “After we rescued them from their office, police escorted the mayor and deputy mayor to their homes,” said SP Krishna Prasai, adding that a woman was injured while trying to escape. According to sources, the protesters comprising mostly of women was led by local NCP (NCP) leaders. As the municipality had failed to conduct its village council in time, the same had prevented the distribution of social security allowance from the start of the current fiscal. Regarding the protest, the local NCP (NCP) leaders vowed to continue their agitation until their demands for early distribution of the overdue allowance, along with additional demands of early convention of the village council, payment for projects already completed and investigation into irregularities were addressed. The protesters have put forth a 14-point demand.