By IANS
Kathmandu : Security forces have arrested 35 Maoists for creating havoc in a Terai district and torching four vehicles.
The arrests Thursday were the aftermath to an indefinite shutdown called by the Young Communist League (YCL), the dreaded youth wing of the Maoists, in Rautahat district in southern Nepal since Wednesday.
The YCL had called the closure alleging that the government had failed to bring to justice the perpetrators of a violent clash in Gaur town earlier this year in which 27 Maoist supporters were killed and nearly four dozen hurt after they were outnumbered by an emerging power in the Terai, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum.
To enforce the closure, on Thursday YCL cadres stopped a bus, ordered the passengers off and set it on fire.
After police arrested two cadres for the attack, the rebels went on the rampage Friday, torching three more vehicles, including two oil tankers.
The incident comes even as the YCL is facing growing allegations of extortion, violence and killings.
Last week, the cabinet asked the home ministry to enforce law and order in the Terai after security forces said they were helpless to act with the political parties intervening on behalf of criminals.
The Maoists were found to be behind the killing of a journalist in Bara district and the disappearance of a second journalist from Kanchanpur four months ago.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal Thursday said the Maoists were trying to force child soldiers back into guerrilla camps in violation of the peace accord and international child rights.
A host of medical colleges have announced a protest march in the capital after six officials from a Terai medical college were abducted and assaulted by the YCL.
The Hotel Association of Nepal and other travel agencies say the rebels have stepped up extortion of tourists, porters, guides and hotels, which is also a violation of the peace accord.
Though the Maoist leadership has been repeatedly saying they would investigate the allegations, the YCL is yet to be reined in.