By IANS
Kathmandu : Nearly six months after a massacre in Nepal’s Terai left over two dozen dead, fresh sectarian violence in the area has killed at least 23 people with dozens missing and hundreds displaced, forcing beleaguered Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to promise a probe.
Religious leaders met the premier at his residence in Kathmandu to urge him to form a high-level commission to bring to justice the perpetrators of the violence in Kapilavastu district in southern Nepal where the toll has risen to 23 and there are fears that there will be more victims.
Villagers found 10 partially burnt bodies and informed security forces Wednesday, after an orgy of arson, looting and clashes shook the district following the murder of a local strong man Sunday.
Controversial politician Abdul Moit Khan, who enjoyed the backing of both the palace and Koirala’s Nepali Congress party and had headed a vigilante group during the days of the king’s regime, was gunned down by two unidentified assailants Sunday.
The vigilantes had killed at least 12 Maoists in Kapilavastu but Khan went unpunished despite rights groups urging for justice.
His enraged supporters went on the rampage, setting fire to over 300 houses, shops and hotels and more than 100 vehicles.
In the ensuing violence at least 23 people were killed, including a policeman, a 10-year-old boy and women.
Over 2,000 people have fled their villages and dozens are still missing, raising fears that the toll could rise higher.
Richard Bennett, chief of the UN Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, who visited Kapilavastu, reportedly said the government has taken no steps to help the victims.
Parts of the district still lie under curfew.
The violence also spread to the neighbouring districts with mobs setting three mosques on fire.
Though Koirala promised the religious leaders a commission would be formed, his government has singularly failed to uphold law and order and punish people responsible for massacres.
In March, 29 people died in a massacre in Gaur town in the Terai plains but no one has been punished so far.