Chure bandh hits Sarlahi

Sarlahi, August 10:

Activists of the Chure Bhawar Ekta Samaj (CBES) today torched a bus for defying their bandh in Sarlahi district. Sarlahi deputy superintendent of police Ganesh KC said the CBES activists torched the bus at the Sukhipokhari Chowk of Hariwan VDC-6 that was heading to Karmaiya from Malangawa. KC added that the CBES activists forced the passengers out of the bus before setting it ablaze.

Locals said that the CBES activists ran away when Armed Police Force personnel reached the spot. The brunt of the APF ire fell on a hapless couple running a momo shop near the spot. The APF men barged into Selu Lama’s and her husband Nabin Lama’s shop and beat them up. The severely injured Lama couple was taken to Birgunj for treatment in a jeep of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists.

The CBES bandh affected life in Lalbandi, Nawalpur, Hariwan, Karmaiya and other places of Sarlahi district. Our Mahottari correspondent reports CBES activists protesting

the murder of two of their cadres and the seizure of their bodies by Kathmandu police closed down the Bardibas bazaar and brought all transport services to a halt there.

CBES cadres burnt tyres at major crossings and chowks of the town, obstructed the East-West highway and blocked the way of all vehicles proceeding from Sindhuli. Markets in Chandranigahpur also remained closed due to the bandh.

Stranded passengers complained they had run out of money and had no means of proceeding further. Bhawendra Koirala of Fattehpur-4 in Saptari district said he was wending home after getting news of his father’s death, but the CBES bandh stranded him midway in Bardibas. Meanwhile, a group torched a bus at Bakdhuwa-7 along the Mahendra Highway in Saptari today, police said. Locals said that the CBES, charging the driver with defying the bandh, torched the bus.

JTMM-J bandh impact

RAUTAHAT: Normal life was affected in Rautahat, Bara and Parsa districts on Friday, the last day of the three-day three-district bandh called by the Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha-Jwala Singh (JTMM-J). In Gaur, both short-and long-route vehicles stayed off the roads, while industries and shops in Gaur and adjoining areas remained shut. No untoward incident occurred, police said. Shops in Kalaiya of Bara remained shut, while only a few vehicles plied the Kalaiya-Birgunj road. No vehicle plied in Birgunj; markets were shut. The JTMM-J called the bandh to protest the killing of its three cadres — Suman Sahani, Banudas and Anil

Ray Yadav — at the hands of locals of Ramauli Bairiya VDC of Rautahat a week ago for their alleged attempt to commit a dacoity. — HNS