Nepal protester shot dead in fresh clashes with police

KATHMANDU: Nepal police shot dead a protester as fresh clashes erupted in the country’s southern plains on Tuesday, a day after an 18-month-old boy and seven officers died during demonstrations against a new constitution.
Monday’s violence in Tikapur prompted the government to deploy troops in the town overnight, while the country’s human rights watchdog sent a team to monitor the situation.
In the latest clashes, police fired into a crowd of about 150 demonstrators who were throwing stones at security personnel in the town of Gaur in Rautahat district, 100 kilometres south of Kathmandu, a local official said.
“Police were forced to use tear gas and fire shots, a protester was hit and he died on the way to hospital,” district chief, Madan Bhujel, told AFP.
Further west, hundreds of demonstrators vandalised buildings in Tikapur, defying an indefinite curfew imposed on Monday after protesters attacked police with spears, axes and knives.
“Small clashes have occurred today with a few groups defying the curfew,” said Dhan Bahadur Kathayat, deputy superintendent of Tikapur police.
“They torched a couple of houses, but our teams have put out the fires,” Kathayat told AFP.
Police said they were taken by surprise by the scale of the violence on Monday, when demonstrators turned on security forces, killing seven.
The 18-month-old son of paramilitary officer Netra Bahadur Saud was also killed when protesters opened fire at his home in Tikapur, but police said there were no casualties among the demonstrators. “My son was playing in front of me, all of a sudden I heard bullet fire,” Saud said.