RAUTAHAT, JULY 29

Twelve people were injured when people from two communities clashed over the distribution of gas cylinders in Yamunamai Rural Municipality, Rautahat, today.

The clash broke out after the ward chair tried to distribute gas cylinders to people of his community in the programme scheduled for distribution of cylinders at Jhunkhunwa in the rural municipality.

Twelve people were injured when people from the two sides pelted bricks at each other. Personnel from the District Police Office and Armed Police Force from Fatuwa Base Camp had reached the incident site and helped control the situation.

Injured locals are being treated at Gaur Hospital.

Police have started investigating the incident, said SP Rabiraj Khadka. Ward Chair Rahamat Alam said ward 5 had got 225 sets of gas stoves and cylinders. Alam said as per the earlier agreement, he had planned to distribute cylinders and stoves to impoverished Muslim families in the first phase and others in the second phase.

“But, they attacked us all of sudden,” Alam said. He demanded that the guilty be booked.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.