NC cadre dies

RAUTAHAT: Nepali Congress Kaleshwor Kumar Singh died at the age of 79 at his home on Monday. He was suffering from heart diseases since long. NC paid tributes to him by covering his body with party flag. Born in 1986 in Rautahat’s Bramhapuri-4, Singh had joined the politics as an NC cadre while he was still a student. Singh is survived by his wife and a son. — HNS

JTMM-J leader held

PATHLAIYA: Police held regional commander of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha-Jwala Singh (JTMM-J) in Bara district on Sunday evening. Commander Kasim Dewan, 28, a resident of Ward No 2 of Biruwaguthi VDC in Bara was held from Jeetpur bazaar, the police said, adding, four rounds of bullets and one homemade pistol were seized from him. — HNS

Fire claims one

Rautahat: Twenty-two-year-old Pratima Devi, the wife of Suresh Tiwari of Gaur Municipality-12 died of burn injuries on Monday after she caught fire in the kitchen. She died while undergoing treatment at Gaur hospital, the district police office said. — HNS

Jailbirds’ plea

TANAHUN: Jailbirds of Damauli prison have urged the district-based political parties, organisations and offices to provide them with donations so that they could also celebrate Dashain. “As the money provided by the government is not sufficient to manage Dashain expenses, we urge the parties, organisations and offices to provide us with money,” Keshav Bahadur Thapa, a jailbird, said, adding that the DDC had provided Rs 2,000 and the District Child Welfare Committee and the Tanahun Chamber of Commerce and Industries each had provided Rs 1,000. — HNS

Abductor arrested

Rautahat: Police have arrested an abductor three years after he abducted a woman from Gaur on Monday. Binay Kumar Singh of Madhuwan village of Sitamadhi in India was arrested on the charge of abducting Usha Devi, the wife of Nagendra Kumar Jha of Rautahat’s Auraiya-9, and taking her to India. Four of his accomplices are still at large, the police said. — HNS

Mudslide kills two

CHARIKOT: Mudslide buried two persons to death at Bhirkot VDC-5 in Dolakha district on Sunday.

Radhika Raut, 17, of Bhirkot-5 and Dhawa Tamang, 21, of Jhule-7 were burried while they were trying to dig out red soil for scrubbing houses, the police said. — HNS

Food crisis

KHOTANG: With Dashain around the corner, people in 18 VDCs in northern part of Khotang district have been facing shortage of food after the depots of Nepal Food Corporation in Boksila and Aiselukharka run out of stock. The depots run out of stocks after the contractors did not supply rice as per the agreement, NFC officials said. — HNS

Dr Pandey honoured

KATHMANDU: Indian President Pratibha Patil honoured Dr Mrigendra Raj Pandey, senior cardiologist and founding member of Mrigendra-Samjhana Medical Trust (MSMT), with Distinguished Service Award for his service in the field of cardiology. A press release issued by the MSMT on Monday stated that Pandey also received lifetime achievement award for outstanding contribution to the field of clinical and preventive cardiology from the former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in New Delhi. — HNS

KC bereaved

KATHMANDU: Joint general secretary of the Nepali Congress Arjun Narsingh KC has been bereaved of his mother. His mother Yashoda KC passed away on Monday morning at the age of 78. She was suffering from asthma for long. Her funeral rites were performed as per Hindu rituals at Pashupati Aryaghat on Monday itself. She is survived by seven sons and three daughters. — RSS

Artistes stage protest

SUNDARIJAL: Nepal Film Producers’ Association (NFPA) and Nepal Film Association (NFA) gheraoed the office of Film Development Board (FDB) on Monday against the imposition of tax on films. As part of the protest, cinema halls across the nation remained closed on Monday. President of NFPA Ashok Sharma said the agitation would continue until their demand was met. Artiste Nir Shah accused the government of trying to displace film artistes. Meanwhile, protesters disputed among themselves after Shah tore apart the banner of NFPA, stating that “foreign brokers” were included in the agitation. Agitating employees of cinema halls of Kathmandu Valley encircled Shah before he managed to flee. — RSS