Key Accused In Nepal Pro-Monarchy Protests Arrested From Assam

Police in Nepal on Friday arrested the main person behind the March 28 pro-monarchy protests in the capital Kathmandu that killed two persons.

Nepal Police said in a statement that Durga Prasai, who was involved in the violent protests of Tinkune, Kathmandu, was arrested from Jhapa district bordering India along with his bodyguard.

Mr Prasai was charged with state offence and organised crime.

According to media reports, Prasai was arrested in Assam by the local police there and handed over to Nepal Police, who brought him to Jhapa, where he was formally arrested.

However, there was no extradition treaty currently effective between Nepal and India, so the arrest of Prasai in Assam was not disclosed, the report said.

The police earlier arrested more than five dozen people, including general secretary of the Rastriyia Prajatantra Party Dhawal Shumsher Rana and vice-president Rabindra Mishra, for their involvement in the protests.

The violent protests last month left two persons, including a photojournalist, dead and over 110 others injured.

There have been a series of protests in Kathmandu and some other parts of the country by the pro-monarchists, including the RPP, demanding the reinstatement of monarchy and the establishment of Nepal as a Hindu state.

The police have already initiated legal action against RPP Rana, Mishra and others under state offence and organised crimes taking them into judicial remand with the order from Kathmandu District Court.

The RPP has been demanding the immediate release of the leaders and cadres of the party who were arrested in connection with the pro-monarchy protests.

Nepal's political parties through a Parliament declaration abolished the 240-year-old monarchy in 2008 and turned the erstwhile Hindu kingdom into a secular, federal, democratic republic.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)