BUTWAL, OCTOBER 10
Three persons were killed in police firing after squatters at Rupandehi's Motipur Industrial Area clashed with police today.
Chief District Officer Rishiram Tiwari said police were deployed to remove squatters from the industrial area, but squatters defied police personnel forcing them to open fire. Three of those injured in firing breathed their last at Bhairahawa's Universal Medical College, said a hospital official.
Locals, however, alleged that police opened indiscriminate fire without any provocation and condemned their highhandedness.
Locals got agitated after police arrested a local, Himal Rana, at 1:00am today. Local administration had been using police personnel to remove illegally-constructed huts and shanties from the industrial area for the past three days. Earlier, a programme held to lay the foundation stone of the industrial area was disrupted after locals pelted stones on the VIPs.
Rupandehi District Administration Office has imposed a curfew to contain the situation. "DAO has imposed a curfew in the industrial area with effect from 4:00pm today," said CDO Rishiram Tiwari.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 11, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
