Siraha, May 2 :

Maoists padlocked the Siraha municipality office yesterday to protest against the alleged distribution of citizenship certificates to Indian nationals. A group of Maoist cadres led by Ram Kumar Yadav of ward number 22 threatened the citizenship certificate distribution team members and padlocked the office forcefully.

Chief of the citizenship certificate distribution team, Dilip Lamichhane, said the Maoists padlocked the office on the charge of distributing citizenship certificates to Indian nationals illegally.

Citing security reasons, the team stopped distributing citizenship today. However, citizenship papers will be distributed by the District Administration Office from tomorrow, Lamichhane said.

Maoist cadre Ram Kumar Yadav claimed that the team distributed citizenship papers to Indians with the agreement of seven parties by taking a huge sum.

Hundreds of people who came to the municipality office to take citizenship certificates were deprived of the papers due to the padlocking.