Itahari, October 7:

Five cadres of the Kishor Biswas faction of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF-B) and three policemen were injured in clashes at Duhabi of Sunsari district today. The clashes occurred while police were escorting dozens of vehicles during the bandh called by the MJF-B.

MJF-B Duhabi coordinator Ranjit Biswas said five cadres of his party were injured in the clashes that erupted at 5 pm and 7 pm. Biswas accused the police of intervening in a peaceful demonstration of the MJF-B. He claimed that the police barged into MJF-B cadres’ houses and beat them up. However, the police charged MJF-B cadres with attacking them with soda bottles and country-made pistols. The police managed to escort over 26 vehicles to their destinations.

Sunsari chief district officer Prem Narayan Sharma said security personnel have been deployed in large numbers at Duhabi and adjoining areas. He added that everything was under control. Inspector at the Duhabi area police office Kuldip Chand said three policemen were injured when the agitators resorted to stone-pelting.

In the Rangeli bazaar, several persons were injured when forum cadres clashed with police and tried to set fire to police vehicles and snatch weapons from a security post. The clash took place when police tried to reopen the Rangeli road blocked by the forum activists.

Inspector at the Rangeli police post Milan Bhattarai said the forum men fired two rounds from country-made pistols, following which the police fired five rounds in the air. Sabita Rajbansi, of Devansa, and others, who were injured in the police baton-charge, are being treated at the Rangeli hospital.

Yesterday, four persons were injured in a clash between Madhesi Mukti Tigers and Young Communist league cadres at Captaingunj. The clash erupted at 11.30 pm in Captaingunj VDC-6 bordering India. Three YCL men and a MMT cadre were injured, the police said.

The condition of the injured YCL men is said to be critical. The injured YCL men been rushed to the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. YCL district coordinator Biswajit Tharu accused the MMT cadres of trying to launch a fatal attack on the YCL men.

Meanwhile, the police arrested Mohan Magar, Ashish Rai, Mahesh Gurung, DK Limbu, Ambika Niroula, Navraj Karki and Suresh Rai at Sanishchare of Morang district for trying to vandalise public vehicles. They had seized a bus and vandalised it. The seven have been taken to the Urlabari area police office.