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Police open fire at demonstrators in Gonganu, over a dozen critically injured

More than a dozen protesters were injured when security personnel opened fire at a demonstration in Gongabu in Kathmandu Tuesday evening.

TV footages showed several injured demonstrators being rushed to hospital as violent clashes between the police and the protesters went on. Red Cross officials, some foreign volunteers and police personnel carried the inured persons to police vans and other vehicles to be rushed to hospital.

According to human rights monitors present on the scene, more than a dozen agitators were shot by the riot police and the Armed Police Force (APF) officials as angry demonstrators threw stones at the residence of police AIG Roop Safar Moktan at Gongabu after unidentified persons reportedly opened fire at the crowd from inside the house.

APF Senior Superintendent Madhav Thapa who was leading the security forces refused to order his men to halt fire despite several requests after a number of protesters were shot at, the rights activists said.

Several rights activists and journalists were also injured as police indiscriminately charged batons at the crowd while dozens others were arrested from the protest that started soon after the daytime curfew ended at 5:00 p.m.

The condition of a number of persons who have been undergoing treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital is said to be critical. nepalnews.com mk Apr 11 06