Suspected Maoists kill top VHP priest in Nepal

Suspected Maoist rebels shot dead one of Nepal’s top Hindu priests as he conducted a ceremony in a temple on Friday, the military said....

Suspected Maoist rebels shot dead one of Nepal’s top Hindu priests as he conducted a ceremony in a temple on Friday, the military said.

It was the first time a religious leader has been targetted in the Maoist insurgency in the world’s only Hindu nation.

The Army said assailants gunned down Narayan Pokharel, chief of the Nepal wing of the World Hindu Federation, a VHP outfit, and a well known religious scholar, in the western town of Butwal soon after dawn.

Story continues below this ad

There has been no claim of responsibility from the Maoists.

‘‘The terrorists shot him nine times and killed him instantly. One of his aides was injured and has been lifted in a helicopter to Kathmandu for treatment,’’ the statement said. The military uses the term ‘‘terrorists’’ to refer to the Maoists.

Butwal, about 300 km west of the capital Kathmandu, is part of the stronghold of the Maoist rebels, who have been fighting for the past nine years to overthrow the monarchy and establish a communist state. At least 11,000 people have been killed in the rebellion.

‘‘This shows the barbaric attitude of the terrorists and how they terrorise the general population,’’ the statement said. The latest attack comes after King Gyanendra lifted a state of emergency last weekend.

Story continues below this ad

Gyanendra had imposed the emergency on February 1, sacking the government, jailing political leaders and suspending civil rights. He said the moves were essential to end the Maoist insurgency.

Although the emergency has been lifted, political parties say hundreds of political and human rights activists remain in detention. —Reuters

Govt gets an update

NEW DELHI:

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee has briefed External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan about the recent developments in Nepal. He will return to Kathmandu on Saturday. US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca is slated to be here on Monday for discussions on the Nepal situation. — ENS