Rautahat, December 9:

The indefinite Rautahat bandh called jointly by the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) and Rajendra Mahato-led Nepal Sadbhawana Party-Anandidevi (NSP-A) today affected normal life in the district.

Following the bandh, Gaur-based shops, educational institutions, transport service and shops in rural areas remained close.

Large numbers of security personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident, DSP at the Rautahat District Police Office, Laxman Neupane said. The MJF and Mahato-led NSP-A have been jointly staging protest programmes against the Maoists’ act of filing cases against 103 persons in connection with the Gaur massacre on March 21, 2007.