Kathmandu: Nepal’s Prime minister KP Oli told India to keep off “our internal affairs” after India strongly protested a Bihari teenager’s death due to police firing at the Border on Monday.
19-year-old Ashish Kumar Ram aka Sonu Ram, a resident of Darbhanga, died and more than 100 were wounded on the India-Nepal border which has been blocked for the past 40 days by groups opposed to the newly-drafted constitution. The clash between Madhesi Protesters and Nepali forces lasted four hours.
India supplies the bulk of Nepal’s essentials, medicine, and fuel supplies. The blockade has left the Nepalese people gasping for all of these essential items of daily living.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up Oli to express shock over the killing of the Indian teenager, who was shot in the head, and assured that there was no obstacle from the Indian side on supply of fuel and food. They then received a tersely worded statement, which barely hid the dissatisfaction over the Nepalese’s handling of grievances of the Madhesi Community.
“Issues facing Nepal are political in nature and cannot be resolved by force. Causes underlying the current state of confrontation need to be addressed by the government of Nepal credibly and effectively,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
Nepal has accused India of imposing an unofficial blockade along the border said PM Oli on Monday at a function in Kathmandu. He accused India of propping up Madhesi political parties to impose blockades and warned New Delhi not to interfere in his nation’s internal affairs.
Witnesses said the crackdown along Birgunj-Raxaul border, which is crucial for Nepal as 60% of its trade with India takes place through it, began on Sunday when Nepali forces drove out protesters from the no man’s land separating Raxaul and Birgunj. The timing was crucial because people were busy casting their votes in the fourth phase of the Bihar assembly polls that day.
But when news spread, thousands of protesters rushed to the border and clashed with the forces.
An eyewitness and Madhesi district leader, Sunita Sah, speaking to a national daily said that she saw a young man in a black vest using an alternative route through an adjacent village to return from Birgunj towards Raxaul and “the police caught him”. Sah said they begged the police from a distance not to harm him – but the police shot him point-blank.
Father Ashok Ram said Ashish had gone to Birgunj for some personal work and was shot on his way back.
