ONCE-OVER

Herb collectors killed

GORKHA: Nine residents of Gorkha, who had gone to collect Yarsagumba in Manang, were reportedly killed by the locals. Gyan Bahadur Gurung, Subadar Gurung, Bire Gurung, Kami Gurung, Sobar Gurung, Aaita Gurung and Dhruba Gurung, all residents of Gorkha’s Kerauja VDC, were lynched by the villagers of Nar VDC in Manang district. Meanwhile, two of the victims had died when they fell off a cliff trying to evade the attack. The two have yet to be identified. Though they were murdered on June 10, the news came late as the police could not reach the incident site as soon as the incident took place. “A 35-member police team has reached the incident site for further investigation,” zonal police office chief Bhaktinath Majhi said. — HNS

School padlocked

RAUTAHAT: Students of Shree Secondary School in Bishrampur VDC of Rautahat district, saying that the Dalit students were not given away the allocated scholarship and textbooks, padlocked the school for an indefinite period on Thursday. The first terminal examination, which kicked off yesterday, has also been halted due to the protests. “Although there is very much clear provision for scholarships and free textbooks to the Dalit students, they are yet to get the same even into over three months into the new session,” Chandrika Rajak, a 10th grader, said. ‘The principal though assures of it, he is simply not bothered about it,” she added. — HNS