Kapilvastu violence: 10-point agreement with agitating parties

Kapilvastu, Nov 1 : The representatives of protesting locals and the local administration reached a 10-point agreement on Thursday night. The situation in Krishnanagar in Kapilvastu remained peaceful throughout Friday.

Chief District Officer Gajendra Bahadur Shrestha said the curfew order can be lifted from Saturday if the situation remains calm. “Security personnel have been patrolling the violence-prone area and have allowed peaceful movement of people,” said Dharmabir Maurya, a local.

The Thursday night talk was held in the presence of Province 5 assembly member Birendra Kanodiya and Krishnanagar Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ram Kumar Gupta. Following the deal, 13 idols of goddess Laxmi were immersed.

The 10-point agreement allows action against the main accused, and provide compensation to the family of the deceased.

Suraj Pandey, a 22-year-old, died in Krishnanagar on Thursday when police opened fire on a group of protesters defying a curfew imposed by the local administration. The body was handed over to the family at 3pm on Friday following postmortem at Taulihawa Hospital.

The district administration has provided Rs 25,000 for Pandey’s death rituals.

The local administration had clamped an indefinite curfew at 11am on Thursday, a day after a dispute between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities turned violent.

The dispute had ensued on Wednesday when a group of Hindus were heading to immerse idols of goddess Laxmi into Badya lake. The Hindus changed the route they were taking and opted for one where the road passes through a Muslim girls’ school, according to locals.