Dhankuta, October 25:

Residents of Sidhuwa bazaar in Parewadin VDC, Dhankuta district, today blocked traffic in Sidhuwa, Jorpati bazaar and Hile-Basantapur road section of the Koshi Highway. They were protesting Maoist excesses.

Maoists had seized some persons with their cash when they were playing cards in a house at Sidhuwa bazaar at 9:00 pm yesterday.

The Maoists beat them up and paraded them around the bazaar for gambling.

In the clash between the two groups, Rana Bahadur Bista of Majhuwa and an unidentified person were critically injured, the officer in charge of the police post in Hile, Basudev Chaudhary, said.

Locals started protesting against the Maoists excesses since early morning today by blocking traffic on the highway. They also forced shops to down shutters.

Thousands of travellers from Terhathum and Sankhuwasabha were stranded following the protest programmes. The locals seized Maoists’ A-company commissar, Bipin, and activists of the Maoists’ student union in protest against yesterday’s incident.

The Maoists have mobilised the people’s liberation army to control gambling, theft and robbery in Dhankuta district following a request by the people, the Maoist district secretary Kamal said.

Maoists’ Chhintang-Sukhani Brigade 2nd battalion ‘A’ Company team were holding discussions with locals today to sort out the problem, he said. However, both the parties had not reached any conclusion till late in the evening.