Pokhara, September 29:

Seven students were injured in a clash between students affiliated with the Maoists and the CPN-UML at National Higher Secondary School, Pokhara, this afternoon.

The row over the appointment of principal took an ugly turn when cadres of All Nepal National

Independent Students’ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) today broke the lockout carried out in the school yesterday by the cadres of All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (ANNFSU).

ANNFSU cadres Manoj Gautam, Gokarna Baral, Surya Bhandari, Amrit Thapa were injured in the clash, said ANNFSU central member Rashmi Acharya. Gautam and Baral are undergoing treatment at Charak Hospital in Pokhara. Similarly, ANNISU-R cadres Toofan Kafle, Sirjana Poudel and Sirjana Pokhrel were hurt in the incident, ANNISU-R leader Govinda KC said.

Although the school management committee had proposed teachers of the school — Krishna Prasad Poudel, Ishwori Prasad Sapkota, Krishna Udasi and Narayan Prasad Chapagai

— for the post of the principal, Udasi was appointed to the post through the decision of

only a handful members of the school management committee five days ago.

Following this, the UML’s student wing padlocked the school yesterday to protest the appointment of the Maoist-affiliated teacher to the post.

The students clashed after the Maoist student wing forcefully broke the lockout today.

President of the school management committee Prem Raman Acharya has filed a

complaint in the Kaski District Education Office against Udasi’s appointment, saying that he

was kept in the dark while appointing Udasi as the principal of the school.

Udasi said the ANNFSU-affiliated students and teachers attacked the ANNISU-R students while they were trying to lift the lockout.