Nepal police shoot, kill Madhesi student during fresh protests

KATHMANDU: A class 10 Madhesi student was today shot and killed by police during clashes in southern Nepal, an official said as a fresh round of protest by the Indian-origin Madhesis engulfed the region already crippled by a four-month-long agitation over the new Constitution.

18-year-old Tavrej Alam was shot and killed by the police during a protest by United Democratic Madhesi Front ( UDMF) in the districts headquarters Gaur when a crowd of about 1,500 demonstrators started throwing stones and bottles at the police, police said.

Alam, a 10th grader at Juddha Higher Secondary School in the district, was rushed to Rautahat District Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, The Himalayan Times reported.

He was hit by a bullet while burning a copy of the Constitution Amendment Bill recently tabled at the Parliament.

Medical Superintendent Krishna Sha said Alam died due to injuries in kidney and private parts.

Witnesses claimed that police personnel had kicked him with boots even after he was hit by the bullet.

Southern Nepal, including Gaur and Birgunj, have remained tense since last evening as UDMF protesters launched a new round of protests in the volatile region.

The district administration clamped an indefinite curfew in the Gaur area today to avoid any untoward incident.

Madhesis, Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai region and who constitute nearly 52 per cent of Nepal's p[population, have been agitating for the past about four months, demanding more representation in the new Constitution, which was adopted in September.

The Madhesis see the division of their ancestral homeland into seven provinces as a tool to limit their participation in the country's politics.

They have been staging a blockade of Nepal's key border trade points with India, causing a severe shortage of essential goods and medicines in the landlocked country.

At least 50 people have been killed in the protests since August.

Nepal's border town of Birgunj has been tensed following clashes between protesters and police at several places in the city. Police have arrested half a dozen protesters.

Talks between the protesting groups and the government to resolve the crisis have made little progress.

Two days ago, the UDMF announced to launch fresh protests, claiming that the government was not "serious" about their demands.