Rajbiraj, June 14:

Angered at the Maoists’ manhandling of some businessmen for daring to defy the former’s bandh, local businessmen vandalised and torched the Maoists’ Saptari district office today.

They lugged out all the belongings and documents from the office and set them on fire.

The Maoists, protesting the killing of their district secretariat member Dasharath Thakur (Rohit) on Tuesday, have called a three-day bandh in the district.

Businessmen said that the Maoists, saying that a shop was opened during the bandh,attacked a shopkeeper Baiju Kumar Shah with sharp weapons and beat up another shopkeeper Dinesh Gupta of Hatiya bazaar.

After vandalising and torching the Maoist office, the enraged businessmen also seized a socket bomb and a pistol from Maoist district secretary Amar’s bag and handed them over to

the police.

The businessmen also set ablaze a computer, a bicycle and the Maoist flag flying atop the office.

Young Communist League (YCL) cadre Balaram Mahato, who was critically injured when the businessmen thrashed him, is undergoing treatment in Sagarmatha Hospital. The crowd of

businessmen were pacified only after deputy superintendent of police Bharat Pradhan intervened.

Businessmen Baiju Kumar Shah and Dinesh Gupta said Maoist area no-2 in-charge Mahesh Yadav, city in-charge Kedardev Akhtar and YCL cadre Balaram beat them up for daring to defy the bandh.