Ramechhap, January 8:

Many of the Village Development Committee (VDC) secretaries of Ramechhap district today halted their regular duties to protest against the Friday’s alleged beating to the Gumdel VDC secretary by a Ramechhap DDC member.

One Friday Ramechhap DDC member Angnima Sherpa allegedly manhandled Gumdel VDC secretary Yadav Pahadi at a public place at Khandbari Chowk in Manthali, the district headquarters. The VDC secretaries said, Sherpa, the DDC member representing Area No 1, beat up Pahadi without any cause.

Some 32 of the 55 VDC secretaries of the district halted their regular duties and also staged a sit-in programme on the DDC premises today and said they would launch other protest programmes in the future. Chief District Officer, Mohan Prasad Wagle, and Local Development Officer, Komal Prasad Kafle, said the VDC secretaries had informed them about the incident.