Dhading, October 20:

The highway in Dhading remained tense today following the death of a Young Communist League (YCL) cadre in a clash with Youth Force activists yesterday.

CPN-Maoist activists set two vehicles on fire and vandalised three others today.

President of the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Landless Association, Dhading, Krishna Bahadur

Bhandari was killed in the clash at Belkhu yesterday. Irate cadres of the CPN-Maoist torched a truck and a motorbike in Belkhu today.

Similarly, another group vandalised three vehicles at Malekhu. According to the district police office, a bus, a microbus, and a truck, all heading from Dailekh to Kathmandu, were vandalised by the YCL cadres. The clash between the YCL and YF cadres ensued yesterday after UML cadre Rajendra Rimal of Dhading’s Baireni VDC-9 was assaulted with khukuri on Saturday evening.

After the incident, Maoist cadres went on rampage. The Dhading district administration office had clamped curfew on the highway from Mauwakhola to Naubise section from 10:00 pm last night to 06:00 am today.

The situation on the Prithivi Highway has been gradually coming back to normalcy.

A large number of Armed Police Force and civilian policemen were mobilised along the highway.

Meanwhile, preparations were underway to bring Bhandari’s body from Gajuri to Dhading Besi.