Balaju, Darchula incidents, ominous indication

E-Zine REPORT
BALAJU, FEB 6

Despite the Tarai region becoming a hotbed of violent activities in the recent days, people in the rest of the parts of the country were taking a sigh of relief for couple of months.

But, the latest developments give some ominous indication-- the peace is not going to last for long. Police and Maoist youth wing the Young Communist League (YCL) cadres Wednesday once again started their past course—muscle-flexing right in the capital city.

Police today evening raided office of the Maoist youth-front, Young Communist League, in the capital Wednesday evening.

Following the police intervention, the YCL cadres have obstructed major streets in the capital by burning tyres and demonstration in protest following the raid at their office located inside the Balaju Industrial Estate in Kathmandu.

YCL leader "Sagar", talking to a TV channel late night, informed that the situation at Balaju is returning to normalcy as police backtracked from their camps.

Meanwhile, the YCL cadres had abducted three Nobel Academy students from their hostel in the capital this afternoon.

Bidhan Chunara, Bipin Khatri and Suman Shrestha were abducted from the hostel.
Issuing a statement, Nepali Congress has condemned the abduction and demanded safe release of the three.

Meanwhile, 17 persons including Nepali Congress lawmaker Dilendra Prasad Badu and a dozen policemen, who were injured in Maoist attack, were airlifted to the capital Wednesday for treatment.
The NC activists were injured in a clash that ensued after the Maoist cadres tried to foil the NC’s election campaign at Latinath VDC in Darchula district on Tuesday.

The injured were airlifted from Gokule, six-hour walk away from the incident site, to the capital this morning in a chopper.

Besides Badu, the injured activists have been identified as Narendra Dhami, Sher Shingh Dhami, Hemanta Bista and Harak Singh Dhami and are admitted at TU Teaching hospital in Maharajgunj.

According to doctors attending the injured, NC leader Badu has received critical injuries in lower parts of his body and other activists have been severely injured in the heads and legs.
12 police personnel who were injured in the confrontation were also airlifted to the capital for treatment.
The team of NC activists had reached Reel village for to campaign for the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.
The Maoist cadres picketed the house of a local NC activist, Mohan Singh Dhami, where the NC team were having launch and pounced on them, said Darchula Chief District Officer Yagy Raj Bohara.

Two Maoist cadres were also reportedly injured when the police fired to contain the violent mob.
The situation of five police men mobilised for Badu’s security and few NC activists are still unknown.
During the scuffle, the Maoists torched 12 houses of the villages including Dhami’s apart from looting a rifle, a pistol and a communication set from the police, said police Inspector Amar Bahadur Bom.