PM, Prachanda meet ends bandh

Shivapur (Kapilvastu), June 10 :

Infuriated cadres of the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) this morning vandalised a dozen vehicles ferrying tourists, passengers and martyrs’ families, saying that they had defied the Kapilvastu district bandh.

YCL cadres seized the vehicles at Belauti area of Shivapur village development committee on Mahendra Highway and torched some of them and vandalised others.

Ten persons also sustained minor injures in a stampede after YCL cadres chased them with batons and khukuris, said the Chandrauta area police office (APO).

A group of 25 YCL cadres vandalised and torched vehicles Ba 2 Kha 117, Na 2 Kha 7845 and

Ba 3 Kha 278, a jeep Bhe 1 Cha 661, a microbus Ba 2 Kha 1913, buses Na 2 Kha 5716 and Na 2 Kha 5305 and a truck Na 3 Kha 2454, among others. The vehicles were completely damaged in the arson.

Conflict-hit martyrs’ families were returning after submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in the capital.

Around 60 members of the martyrs’ families from Rukum, Rolpa, Dang, Salyan and other districts were homewawrd-bound.

The Maoists later apologised to the martyrs’ families and managed food for them in the

afternoon, said Maoist Parsa district in-charge Chandra Bahadur Chand.

According to preliminary estimate, property worth Rs 30 million was damaged in the arson. Many passengers’ goods in the buses were also damaged.

Telephones went on the blink and electricity supply was also halted when overhead electricy cables were damaged by the flames from the burning vehicles. A driver, Gopal Basnet said: “The YCL cadres terrorised passengers by brandishing weapons. They first vandalised and then torched the vehicles.”

The Maoists had called an indefinite Kapilvastu district bandh yesterday to press for the removal of the Nepal Army base camp at Kudarkhetwa in Shivapur VDC.

The arson happened due to the foolishness of passengers, said Maoist district incharge Birjung.

Meanwhile, in a statement later in the evening, the Maoists called off the indefinite bandh. They said the bandh had been withdrawn after the PM and Maoist supremo Prachanda met in Kathmandu and sorted out differences.