Rajbiraj, July 20

Cadres of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, Saptari, staged a demonstration today protesting the report made public by the National Human Rights Commission on the Maleth incident.

The RJP-N leaders and cadres called a vehicular strike on Rupani road in Rajbiraj Municipality — the incident site — for an hour from 9:00 am, demanding that the ‘faulty’ report be scrapped.

RJP-N central general secretary Manish Kumar Suman, district chair Sunil Kumar Jha, joint-secretary Gajendra Mandal and district coordination committee chief Prabhakar Yadav staged a protest on the road and obstructed vehicular movement for about an hour.

Birendra Mahato, Pitambar Mandal and Sanjan Mehata of Maleth, Ananda Kumar Sah of Prasawani and Indradev Yadav of Jamunimadhyapura were killed in police firing while they were trying to disrupt a programme of the then CPN-UML in the industrial estate of Rajbiraj on March 6, 2017. To probe the tragedy, the commission had set up a committee.

RJP-N general secretary Manish Kumar Suman said the demonstration was a show of protest against the report. The report is not anywhere close to the truth and it is just an effort to please the ruling party, he said, adding, “This is a symbolic protest. We’re ready to intensify our protest if the faulty report is not scrapped.”  Suman, who is also a member of the Provincial Assembly in Province-2, sought an inquiry into the faulty report.