Life in Boharwa settlement of Sarlahi is yet to return to normal, four days after a violent clash between Nepali Congress and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) cadres left one dead and seven others injured.

Stating that the government paid no heed to their demands, the NC has announced a series of protests to put pressure on the authorities: it will close down Malangawa and obstruct transportation in the Sarlahi section of the East-West Highway for two hours on Sunday.

The NC committee on Wednesday had submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs through Chief District Officer Dron Pokharel, demanding the authorities to declare the deceased a martyr, to provide compensation to the deceased’s family and treatment expenses to the injured, to arrest the culprits and to control illegal arms in the area.

The bereaved family of slain NC activist Rambilas Mahato, who was shot in the clash, said they would not receive the body unless the authorities bring the guilty to book and provide martyr status to the deceased. The body is kept in the hospital’s morgue.

The seven injured in the clash are receiving treatment in Sarlahi District Hospital in Malangawa.NC lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh, who was elected for the House of Representatives from Sarlahi-4, claimed that the NCP activists attacked the NC supporters as per the direction of their leader Shivapujan Raya. On the contrary, the NCP on Thursday issued a statement that said the NCP and its activists were not involved in the clash.

The accused NCP supporters in the village, however, fear attacks from the rival group. They have been displaced after the incident and are taking shelter in their relative’s houses in other villages or in the houses of the NCP local leaders.

“I have been staying at a leader’s house since the incident. If I return home, they (NC supporters) will beat me. I will go back only when peace is restored in the village,” said Thakur Raya of Boharwa. To prevent any such untoward incident, CDO Pokharel said 90 security personnel have been mobilised in the area to maintain peace and order.