Narayangadh, May 19:

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel stationed at the Maoists’ Third Division in Jutpani of Chitwan recently took under control two local youths and thrashed them for sloganeering against them and setting ablaze their jeep.

The PLA men abducted Birendra Adhikari and Krishna Prasad Poudel of Jutpani on Wednesday night and released them in injured condition yesterday.

On May 11, irate locals had torched a jeep used by PLA’s Basu Memorial Brigade to protest against killing of one Chandra Bahadur Shrestha of Pithuwa after being hit by the jeep at Kankalichowk of Jutpani. The Maoists had even agreed to provide a compensation of Rs 500,000 to the victim’s family after the locals disrupted traffic for three hours on Mahendra Highway.

Family members of Adhikari and Poudel said the duo had bruises all over the body.

“Both of them were injured from the beatings by PLA men,” the relatives of the duo told media persons today.

The spokesperson of Maoists Third Division, Abiral, said the they had taken the duo under control for chanting pro-monarchy slogans and were released after interrogation. “The PLA has enlisted 16 local youths for interrogation,” Abiral added. Other local youths have started leaving village from today due to fear of abduction following the incident.

Most of the youths of Jutpani have left the village after they came to know that the PLA will be interrogating more youths, the locals said.