A team of National Human Rights Commission has started assessing the security situation of banda-hit Gaur in Rautahat district.

The team led by Subarna Karmacharya, acting chief of the NHRC regional office in Janakpur, on Friday met Chief District Officer of Rautahat, members of local security agencies, politicians, journalists and civil society representatives and asked them about latest law and order situation there.

The team also enquired the concerned officers about the death of Raj Kishor Thakur who had succumbed to the wounds inflicted by bullets fired by security personnel during a recent protest, said Buddhi Raj Sahani, one of the NHRC team members.

Banda, rally continue in several districts

Meanwhile, the banda enforced by the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha continued to affect the daily life in various Tarai districts. In Rautahat, the banda entered its 14th day on Friday. Market places, schools, factories and transport service in the district remained closed.

In Rajbiraj, Siraha, the Morcha supporters took out a stick rally to protest the deployment of Nepal Army in Kailali, Rautahat and Sarlahi districts. They claimed that the Army was mobilised to suppress Madhesi and Tharu people.

In Mahottari, an unidentified group torched four buses and a truck that were parked at Bargachi Tol in Bardibas-1 on Thursday night. The local Morcha leaders on Friday said that they had nothing to do with the incident. Police said they were looking for the suspects who perpetrated the arson.

In Sunsari district, students took to the street at Duhabi to protest the banda culture and its impact on schools. Around 400 students participated in a rally where they demanded that the schools in the district

should be allowed to operate. They urged the political leaders and the protesting

sides to respect their right to education.

In Biratnagar, Morang, local Muslim community staged a demonstration demanding equal representation for Muslim people. They also demanded that the new constitution should guarantee the formation of Muslim Commission and retain secularism. The residents of Pokhara, Kaski, took out a rally against the banda called by various groups in the district. The rally participants demanded that Pokhara should be  declared a banda-free area.

Prohibitory order lifted in Banke District Administration Office on Friday lifted the prohibitory orders that were issued in Nepalgunj and Kohalpur. The prohibitory orders were issued in view of maintaining peace and order against the backdrop of the increasingly violent protests. Meanwhile, the Tharuhat Struggle Committee in Bardiya district withdrew the banda on Friday and Saturday in view of the Rakshyabandhan festival. The committee said that the banda and protest will resume from Sunday.