Key person behind violent pro-monarchy protests in Nepal held

Kathmandu, April 11: Police on Friday arrested the main person behind the March 28 pro-monarchy protests in Nepal’s capital that killed two persons.
Durga Prasai, who was involved in the violent protests of Tinkune, Kathmandu, was arrested from Jhapa district bordering India along with his bodyguard, Nepal Police said in a statement. The violent protests last month left two persons, including a photojournalist, dead and over 110 others injured.
Prasai was charged with state offence and organised crime. The Kathmandu District Court has given permission to the Nepal Police to keep Prasai in custody for 12 days for carrying out the necessary investigation.
According to media reports, Prasai was arrested in Assam by the local police there and handed over to Nepal Police, who brought him to Jhapa, where he was formally arrested. However, there being no extradition treaty currently effective between Nepal and India, Prasai’s arrest in Assam was not disclosed, the report said.
The police had earlier arrested more than five dozen people, including general secretary of the Rastriyia Prajatantra Party (RPP) Dhawal Shumsher Rana and vice-president Rabindra Mishra, for their involvement in the protests.
There have been a series of protests in Kathmandu and some other parts of the country by the pro-monarchists, including the RPP, demanding the reinstatement of monarchy and the establishment of Nepal as a Hindu state. (PTI)