Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said foreign interference on Nepal’s sovereignty is unacceptable.

Addressing a delegation of his party CPN (Maoist Centre) at his official residence in Baluwatar on Friday, the PM said the government would not accept any kind of interference.

The team had handed over a memorandum to Dahal regarding the Kanchanpur incident in which a Nepali died in firing by the Indian border security force on Thursday.

Gobinda Gautam, a resident of Punarbas Municipality-8, was killed when India’s Sashastra Seema Bal opened fire at him.

The PM said officials at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu were directed to probe the incident and take necessary action against the culprits.

The Foreign Ministry has taken up the issue diplomatically. Both the Home and Foreign ministries have condemned the assault in separate statements.

The government has started the process to declare deceased Gautam as a martyr and to provide Rs1 million in compensation to the bereaved family. The government would also bear the responsibility of educating Gautam’s two daughters. PM Dahal said he has been receiving updates from the ground.

Handing over the memorandum, Province 7 in-charge of the Maoist Centre Lekhraj Bhatta demanded the government declare Gautam as a “national martyr”, provide Rs5 million in compensation to his family, free treatment for those injured in the incident, action against the culprits, and providing job to a member of the Gautam family.

Serious blow to independence: UML

KATHMANDU: The main opposition CPN-UML has condemned India’s killing of a Nepali citizen, violating independence and sovereignty of Nepal, in a cross-border dispute.

Issuing a statement on Friday, UML Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai said the party was stunned by the death of Gobinda Gautam, who was killed by India’s Sushastra Seema Bal on Thursday. “The Indian side opened fire by entering Nepal, violating a previous agreement reached on the issue of a culvert. This incident is a serious attack on sovereignty,” the UML said.

The party also urged the government to raise the issue seriously with the Indian government, inform the people about the incident and express commitment that such incidents will not repeat in future.

The UML suspected that the incident could be a wilful act to distract people from implementation of the new constitution. (PR)