A protestor was injured when Nepal police opened fired on protesters in Birgunj near Shankaracharya gate, the main gateway to Nepal on Monday, agencies report.
Angry protesters pelted them with stones after many of them were removed earlier in the day from this key border point to allow more than 200 vehicles stranded for the past 40 days to cross into India, officials said.
Police official Hobindra Bogati said five protesters were detained when police removed them and the tents they had pitched in the no man’s land between the two countries. He said 205 trucks and other vehicles had crossed from Birgunj, Nepal, to Raxaul, India, and that more were lining up.
However, trucks bringing fuel and other goods to Nepal were still blocked by Indian customs officials.
Members of the ethnic Madhesi people have been protesting Nepal’s new constitution, saying it divides the Madhesis among a number of states. The Madhesis, who want the creation of a larger state that they would dominate, have imposed a general strike in southern Nepal and blocked the border crossing, resulting in a severe fuel shortage across Nepal.
At least 45 people have been killed in the protests since August. There is no official count of the injured.
Police raided the protesters’ camp before dawn when they were still sleeping, removed the tents and lined up the trucks to leave Nepal. By morning, there were small groups of protesters in Birgunj.
Bogati said police were on alert and would stop any attempt to block the trucks.
Nepalgunj-Rupaidiha checkpoint shut
The Nepalgunj-Rupaidiha border point has been shut from Monday morning.
The Indian Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel deployed at the border point stopped vehicles to cross the border point from around 10 am.
The SSB personnel reportedly resorted to the closure after clashes were reported from Birgunj-Raxaul point after resumption of mobility, according to local traders.
Otherwise, the Nepalgunj customs point had recorded uninterrupted mobility of cargo vehicles despite reported unofficial blockade by India and protests by cadres of Madhesi parties at various border points.
On Sunday, talks between the government and Madhesi representatives made some progress.
Following the one-day talks, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa said the government would address the Madhesis’ demand for a larger state through discussions with other political parties.
Initially, the government insisted that the size of states be resolved through a government-appointed commission, but Thapa said it would be discussed as a political issue, as demanded by the protesters.
The government also agreed to the United Democratic Madhesi Front’s demands that families of killed protesters be given monetary compensation, that the government pay for medical care for the injured, and that cases against the jailed be withdrawn.(Asia Times)
Link: http://atimes.com/2015/11/1-injured-in-firing-after-nepal-police-clear-protesters-from-key-crossing-into-india/
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