Malangwa bandh call issued to protest ‘manhandling’

Rautahat, August 12:

Forty-two Bolbam devotees, including seven women, who were heading towards Langurkhola of Sarlahi district from Rautahat district in a bus today, were allegedly thrashed by activists of the Chure Bhawar Ekta Samaj (CBES) at Sukhepokhari of Sarlahi.

CBES cadres stopped the bus and fell upon the devotees. They also vandalised the bus after hauling out the devotees and beating them up.

Manju Devi of Gangapipra, Kumari Devi of Khairwa VDC-7, Sarlahi, Raj Kumari Devi, Ganeshpuri Devi, Pipchandra Thakur, Dinesh Das, of Balaiya in Rautahat, Ramjas Chaudhari of Gangapipra-9 and 12-year-old Shankar Shah were among those injured in the attack. A Bolbam devotee Shambhu Gupta said the CBES activists also looted whatever cash the devotees were carrying.

Outraged devotees and their relatives later staged a protest demonstration in Gaur, the district headquarters of Rautahat. They burnt tyres, obstructed traffic and also resorted to vandalism.

A call to shut Malangwa, district headquarters of Sarlahi, was made to protest the manhandling of followers of Bolbam today, a report from Sarlahi said.

President of the Madhesi Democratic Front, Hridaya Narayan Chaudhary, said they called a bandh in the Malangwa after Chure Bhawar Ekata Samaj cadres misbehaved against followers of Bolbam at Naya Road of Hariwan VDC and Milan Chowk of Dhungre Khola.

However, the CBES denied manhandling followers of Bolbam. The CBES said that it arranged proper services of drinking water and primary health care for the Bolbam followers at different places.

Cadres of the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum and Madhesi Loktantrik Morcha shut the Malangwa bazaar and demanded that the chief district officer punish the culprits. They also approached Indian officials in bordering Sonbarsha for security, alleging the Nepali administration for failing to provide security to followers of Bolbam.

Sarlahi chief district officer Sitaram Adhikari said he was unaware about their call for security from Indian officials. He also promised stern action against those involved in misbehaving against followers of Bolbam.