Kapilvastu death toll reaches 20

KAPILVASTU, Sept 19 - The death toll in the Kapilvastu riots has mounted to 20 as 15 more bodies were recovered in the district Wednesday.
Seven bodies were recovered from a gorge at Devnagari in Birpur VDC this morning, stated the District Police Office (DPO), quoting local residents.

Eight more bodies were recovered from the same area today evening, the locals said.

More bodies are expected to be recovered, the police informed.

None of the eight bodies have been identified yet as their bodies have been disfigured beyond recognition, the police added.

Among the seven found this morning, the deceased have been identified as Hari bahadur Basnet, Jhabinda Khanal, Shovaram Sunar of Bisanpur VDC, and Mohit Bahadur Magar of Shivagadi VDC-3.

A woman from the same village is yet to be identified.

According to Deputy Superintendent Kuber Kadayet, faces of two of them have disfigured beyond recognition.

A team of police has headed for Bisanpur VDC after they were informed that the bodies were in the village.

The police team plans to bring the dead bodies to the DPO.

At least, 14 people are still missing in the riots torn in Bishanpur and other affected areas.

Two passenger buses were torched last night during the curfew period. The police have arrested four persons for their suspected involvement in the incident.

Besides, one dozen vehicles have been set ablaze and vandalized in Ganeshpur and Mahendra Highway, the locals added.

Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed for four hours this morning after three days. The curfew has been re-imposed in the district.

Property worth millions of rupees were destroyed in the riots after an unidentified group shot dead Mohit Khan, a former leader of an anti-Maoist group, Sunday morning.

The DPO added that at least 110 vehicles were either vandalized or torched while over 300 houses in various places were set ablaze.

In Chandrauta bazaar alone, 85 vehicles were torched whereas 16 others were torched in Krishnanagar.





Posted on: 2007-09-18 22:40:28 (Server Time)

New political basis needed to bolster eight-party unity: Mahara

KATHMANDU, Sept 19 - Newly-appointed spokesman of the CPN-Maoist, Krishna Bahadur Mahara Wednesday said that the seven parties have become “a bit serious” about their demands, including the declaration of a republic ahead of the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, after the party pulled out of the current coalition government and launched the street protests Tuesday.
“The leaders of the seven parties were not serious about our demands till yesterday. We found them somewhat concerned today after we declared the agitation,” Mahara said after the eight-party meeting today, “But, this realization must be taken to a meaningful conclusion if the eight-party unity is to be strengthened.”

“A new political basis has to be discovered to bolster the eight-party unity. The recent developments have already proved that the eight-party unity cannot be upheld on the old basis,” he added, referring to the 12-point historical agreement between then seven-party alliance and the Maoists that led to the success of the April uprising.

The Maoists have put forth 22-point “pre-requisites”, including declaring Nepal a republic through the interim parliament and fully proportional electoral system to “ensure” the CA elections. They pulled out of the eight-party government yesterday, citing seven parties’ apathy to their demands.

Stating that they have always stood and fought for “meaningful” CA elections, Mahara added, “The (November 22) elections are merely an illusion. They won’t be possible without a new and strengthened unity among the eight parties.”

Mahara also urged the international community not to doubt the Maoist intention.

“We have certainly not pulled out from the peace process. We are still in the eight-party alliance. We have only stepped down from the government,” he said.

He also informed that the Maoist central secretariat meeting this afternoon had mulled over ways to push for a special session of the interim parliament to declare a republic through the House.

Stating that the meeting, which re-appointed him the party spokesman, also assessed the impact of the Maoist decision to quit the government, he claimed that the decision was backed by the people

Nepali Baba in Berkeley

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