Bara, August 18:

A group of suspected Maoists and locals today locked up 21 persons, including the Chief District Officer of Bara, government officials and ten media persons, in a building for three hours.

The officials and the scribes were headed for Kotwali in Bara’s Laxmipur to look into a dispute among villagers over the construction of a dam in the Jamuniya river. CDO Bhola Prasad Shiwakoti, deputy superintendent of police of the National Investigation Department, Ali Akhtar Hussain, division head of the Narayani irrigation project division Ramananda Yadav and engineer Shivananda Chaudhary were among those detained. Shiwakoti said they were locked up in a room at the Janaki Oil Store building from 12:30 pm till 3:30 pm. The group demanded that the officials construct the dam at Chyutak at Mahendra Adarsha VDC in Bara instead of Kotwali. The group argued that such an arrangement would provide eight VDCs with irrigation facilities, Shiwakoti said.

Photographer Ram Sarraf was manhandled and his camera seized, but later returned, said Shatrughna Nepal. The CDO said the group did not misbehave with the government officials.

Maoists’ district level leaders could not be contacted for comments, while the rebels are also yet come up with their official reaction over the incident.