UCPN (Maoist) Vs Oppns in Dailekh

DAILEKH: Dailekh district is fearing a possible clash today after the six opposition parties– Nepali Congress, CPN (UML) and others– in the district called a district shutdown program against the Nepal’s Prime Minister’s statement to protect the murders of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa.

Top leaders of UCPN (Maoist) including Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Prime Minister and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha and western region in-charge of the party Shakti Basnet are arriving here to address the district convention of the party. Last week, Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai and the UCPN (Maoist) party had directed the officials of the district to halt the process for action against the murder accused of Dailekh based journalist Thapa.

Maoist cadres have already admitted their involvement in killing journalist Thapa during the decade long insurgency. A large number of security forces have been deployed in the district suspecting possible clash between the opposition and Maoist cadres. Some 400 additional personnel of the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have been taken from Nepalgunj and Surkhet to avert the possible clash.

A Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Nepal Police has given the charge of the entire security of the district. Similarly, the opposition parties have been staging anti-government protests from early morning while thousand of cadres of ruling UCPN (Maoist) have also arrived in the district headquarters to attend a mass meeting organized by the party.