Pathlaiya: A protest took an ugly turn in Pathlaiya this evening. One person died when police opened fire at the locals who were protesting the death of a child.

According to Bara CDO Kailashnath Kharel, Raju Lama, a local, died when the police opened fire to disperse irate locals who were demonstrating on the Pathlaiya-Birgunj road, to protest the death of 12-year-old Sujit Pudasaini in a mishap. Pudasaini died when a tipper hit him today.

The locals torched three tippers, including the one that hit the Pudasaini. Locals pelted stones at the fire engine which had come from Birgunj to douse the fire. Police fired seven rounds of teargas to disperse the mob, before opening fire.

Lama’s death only fuelled the protest, as thousands of people took to the street to protest the twin death. The protest left hundreds of vehicles stranded on the Pathlaiya-Birgunj section.

A tipper had killed a person at the same place two weeks ago.