Kathmandu, May 8

Five persons were injured after Chinese nationals staging protest in front of the main gate of Singha Durbar clashed with riot police today. Chinese nationals were demanding to be repatriated amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A group of 33 Chinese nationals had taken to the streets, defying the lockdown and social distancing order issued by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Two security personnel, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Hari Bahadur Basnet, and three Chinese demonstrators were hurt in the clash. Police resorted to lathi-charge and detained all 33 demonstrators, who not only staged a protest with placards and face masks, but also pelted security personnel with stones. The placards read ‘No Money. Need Go Home’.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Lal Gyawali, in-charge at Metropolitan Police Range, said security personnel used mild force to take demonstrators under control and prevent them from entering the administrative headquarters of Nepal. He said six persons, including cops and demonstrators, had sustained minor injuries.

“The demonstrators wanted the Government of Nepal to liaise with the Chinese government for necessary arrangements to repatriate them,” SSP Gyawali said. The Chinese nationals have been detained in  Nepal Police Club, Bhrikutimandap.

Police said they would hold talks with officials at the Embassy of China before releasing the demonstrators.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 9, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.