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Kathmandu Wednesday January 30, 2002 Magh 17, 2058.
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Sixteen more rebels killed in
Tehrathum
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 29:Sixteen more Maoists were
gunned down in an encounter with the security forces in Sankranti Bazaar area of Tehrathum
district on Monday, said our correspondent from Dhankuta today quoting security officials.
The death toll on the Maoist side could even be higher because details of the incident
were yet to be known, said the despatch.
However, a press statement released today by the
Defence Ministry said that only two rebels fell to the army bullets in Athrai Sankranti
Bazaar on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday evening, soldiers of the Royal
Nepal Army (RNA) had killed 21 rebels in a five-hour-long exchange of fire in the same
area.
The sources said that a woman was injured in
Monday’s crossfire. The army has airlifted her to Dhankuta for treatment.
A local man talking over telephone from the site
said that 16 Maoists lost their lives in the confrontation with the RNA forces. Though
details are sketchy, some senior-level Maoist leaders are also believed to have been
killed in the army action.
It is learnt that a large number of soldiers was
mobilised in the area after receiving tip-offs about the rebels holding meetings there.
The area is believed to be the strongest Maoist bastion in the district. None of the army
men was injured in the operation, the sources added.
An army helicopter flew towards the Athrai area
from the barracks at Hile in Dhankuta at around 2 p.m. today. The security officials in
Hile barracks said that the army men were successfully carrying out their operation in the
north-eastern part of the district. Supplies for the RNA soldiers deployed in the area
have been provided by air from Hile, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the rebels on Sunday killed Kirti
Bahadur Chand, Baitadi District Working Committee member of the ruling Nepali Congress,
near his home in Durgasthan VDC, about 15 kilometres east of the district headquarters of
Baitadi.
Chand’s body was recovered in the field of
a local primary school three days after his abduction. His last rites were performed today
after the post-mortem in a local hospital. A press statement issued today by the central
office of the Nepali Congress strongly condemned the rebel action.
Our reporter from Bardiya said that a group of
rebels shot at Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, Bir Bahadur Budha Aer, in Bhri Gaon
bazaar in broad day-light today. He was on duty. The rebels also exploded a socket bomb in
the bazaar. Aer was rushed to Kohalpur medical college for treatment. Soon after the
incident, a large number of army men and police were mobilised in the area for hunting
down the rebels.
In Chitwan, a group of Maoists today evening
hurled a powerful bomb in the premises of the Coca-Cola factory in Bharatpur, locals said.
The explosion caused no damages to the factory but some window-panes of neighbouring
buildings were shattered due to the sound of the explosion. It is the second time in a
month that the rebels have targeted the multinational company.
Meanwhile, the last rites of Superintendent of
Police, Ram Binaya Singh, were performed at his Bramhapur village in Siraha in accordance
with Hindu tradition. Singh was one of the four policemen to be killed when a landmine
laid by the rebels exploded in Kailali district on Monday. Inspector General of Police,
Pradeep Shumsher Rana, was also present at the funeral procession.
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