KATHMANDU: Two people died in a clash between security personnel and cadres of Biplav outfit at the district headquarters of Bhojpur on Wednesday.
The deceased have been identified as Nirkumar Rai, Okhaldhunga district in-charge of Nepal Communist Party led by Netra Bikram Chand and police constable Sanjib Rai.
Acting on a tip-off that some Bipalv cadres on Tuesday evening entered the district headquarters with weapons, police had intensified its search campaign. DPO, Bhojpur had deployed a team of three pain-clothes police personnel under the search campaign on Wednesday morning.
One of the team members was police constable Sanjib Rai. Rai had entered a restaurant in Shanibare Hatiya area in Bhojpur Municipality-7 in the course of gathering information.
Nirkumar Rai also entered the same hotel a half-an-hour after Sanjib Rai entered the hotel. Nirkumar, permanent resident of Shadanand Municipality-13 was the Okhaldhunga district in-charge of Bipalv outfit. He went underground after Tirtha Raj Ghimire was killed in a clash with police in Temkemaiyung Rural Municipality on May 21.
Nirkumar was drunk. After a minor dispute, Nirkumar opened fire on Sanjib and fled the scene. Other plain-clothes standing 200 meters away from the hotel opened fire on him while he was fleeing with the pistol in his hand.
“A squad of plain-clothes police deployed to collect information about Nirkumar Rai had opened fire on Rai in retaliation after the latter attacked the police,” a source at the District Police Office, Bhojpur told Khabarhub.
According to eyewitnesses, Nirkumar fell onto the ground before he was taken under control by the police.
Nirkumar was drunk. After a minor dispute, Nirkumar opened fire on Sanjib and fled the scene. Other plain-clothes standing 200 meters away from the hotel opened fire on him while he was fleeing with the pistol in his hand.
Nirkumar passed away at 9:20 am while undergoing treatment at Bhojpur district hospital. Similarly, Sanjib, who sustained injuries in the firing opened by Nirkumar, died at 9:15 am in the course of treatment.
Two plain-clothes police personnel Khemnath Bhattarai and Surendra Majhi who were deployed along with Sanjib have been injured. Bhattarai has got his shoulder bone fractured. Both of them are undergoing treatment at Bhojpur District Hospital.
Sanjib, permanent resident of Khotang, had been transferred to District Police Office, Bhojpur from Area Police Office, Letang, Morang some months before the parliamentary elections.
Police had recovered a Chinese pistol along with six rounds of bullets and its magazine in possession of Nirkumar Rai.
According to an official at the Security and Coordination Division at the Home Ministry, there is a list of 500 people including Nirkumar Rai, Okhaldhunga district in-charge of Netra Bikram Chand alias Biplav, who are accused of engaging in extortion in the district.
Rai used to often telephone traders and businessmen in Okhadhunga and Bhojpur for donation and warned of a physical action against those who denied donation.
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