Kathmandu, April 9:

CPN-UML standing committee member Amrit Kumar Bohara today met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter’s residence and demanded stern action against those involved in the killing of party’s Surkhet-1 canditate, Rishi Prasad Sharma.

After meeting the PM, Bohara told The Himalayan Times that former Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka was “indirectly involved” in Sharma’s murder.

UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal today flew to Surkhet to take stock of the situation after Sharma’s killing.

According to Bohara, Sharma had telephoned him yesterday morning and told him that he was worried about his life, as a group of suspicious people was following him for the past few days. Bohara also told the PM that the local administration did not provide adequate security to Sharma despite being informed about the threat to his life.

PM Koirala asked Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who was also present in the meeting, to beef up security on the eve of the election and asked him to ensure the security wings remained neutral during the polls.

Issuing a press release later, Bohora claimed that Sharma was shot by a group of people wearing T-shirts printed with Nepali Congress election symbol at Jahera of Mainatada VDC last night.

Bohara also claimed that the NC cadres had held a feast at the same place in the presence of former Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka before the UML candidate was shot dead.

The statement also condemned the local administration for using force against the people enraged at the murder of their candidate. Bohora demanded immediate action against those who were directly or indirectly involved in the killing.

However, the Nepali Congress refuted the allegations that party leader Purna Bahadur Khadka was behind the murder of Sharma. Refuting the reports as “baseless, imaginative, untrue and misleading”, the NC condemned the attempt to defame the party.

Meanwhile, relatives of Sharma, supporters and thousands of UML cadres took out a funeral procession from the Kalagaon regional hospital. Shouting slogans, they went round Birendranagar. General secretary of the UML Madhav Kumar Nepal draped the party flag over Sharma’s body.

Stating that Sharma’s death was an irreparable loss to the nation and the party, Nepal demanded that the killers be arrested and punished. He also demanded that Sharma be declared a martyr.

The UML will not take it lying down if attempts are made to let the killers go scot-free. Sharma’s body was taken home for the last rites.

Life is limping back to normal in Surkhet. Curfew, which was clamped in Birendranagar from 11 pm last night and 1 am in Chhinchu, was lifted at 10 am today. During curfew hours, thousands of UML cadres staged protests in Birendranagar, Chhinchu, Ramghat, Mehelkuna and other places.

Two UML cadres, Arjun Singh Thakuri and Mohan Singh Khatri, were injured in police firing in Chhinchu. After word spread of Sharma’s murder, angry mobs vandalised and set fire to three jeeps, a bus and three motorcycles in Chhinchu last night.