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Janakpur tense, 100 injured in clashes
At least 100 people, including 45 police personnel, were injured in clashes between activists of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) and police in Janakpur on Tuesday.At least 100 people, including 45 police personnel, were injured in clashes between activists of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) and police in Janakpur on Tuesday.
At least 35 people were injured in Janakpur on Monday as well in clashes between police and SLMM supporters.
Clashes flared up after protesters hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at Janaki Police Post.
Security personnel had to charge batons and lob tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
The SLMM has intensified protests since Sunday, a day after Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato was injured in a clash between protesters and police in Biratnagar.
Schools and colleges in Janakpur have remained shut for three consecutive days due to protests and clashes, while business activities and marketplaces have come to a complete halt.
Chief District Officer Kali Prasad Adhikari informed that 45 police personnel were injured in the clashes. According to him, protesters hurled 21 Molotov cocktail bottles at police. “Security personnel fired 21 rounds of tear gas shells,” he added.
Sadbhawana Party’s Dhanusha Chairman Sanjay Kumar Singh accused the local administration of using excessive force against protesters. Singh said more than 50 Morcha supporters were injured in the clashes.
SLMM activists on Monday night torched two trucks carrying bricks near Garuda Bazaar in Rautahat. The protesters took the vehicles under control and set them ablaze for “defying the banda”.