Bara, October 15:

Locals of Inarwasira, home village of kidnapped journalist Birendra Shah, today staged a rally in Kalaiya, the Bara district headquarters, demanding his release.

The protesters, who carried lathis, axes and spears with them, gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the kidnappers to release him. Cadres of the CPN-Maoist are said to have kidnapped Shah 11 days ago. The rally started from Siddheshwor chowk and went round Kalaiya bazaar. The rallyists vandalised a Kalaiya-Birgunj route bus (Na 2 Kha 2448) and burnt tyres at intersections of the town. They blocked the Kalaiya-Birgunj road since 2.00 pm and shut down Kalaiya bazaar . Police detained a rallyist Abbas Ansari of Inarwasira-4 but released him later.

Shouting slogans against the Maoists, the villagers threatened to launch stronger protests if Shah was not released within the deadline stipulated by them. They also gave a memorandum to the district administration urging it to secure Shah’s release and take action against the kidnappers. Meanwhile, the pro-CPN-UML Kalaiya town committee in a press statement called for Shah’s safe release.