Stone pelted at King's motorcade
Unidentified group pelted stones at the motorcade of King Gyanendra when he was returning from Pashupatinath temple on Friday evening.
The groups threw stones at the motorcade injuring a police man. Scores of security personnel rushed to provide cover to the King's motorcade as it made its way through the crowded area.
The King who came alone to the temple on the occasion of Mahashivaratri spent one and a half hour in worship in the temple premises. There were people chanting pro and anti King slogans at various areas of the temple vicinity.
When the King returned at around 8 pm, some groups started pelting stones at his car causing slight damage in its bumper.
In previous years, the King used to visit the temple accompanied by the Queen and other members of royal family to the Pashupatinath temple. This year, however, he was alone.
Earlier, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) officials had said that they would not stop other devotees from worshipping even during the King's presence in the temple premises. However, security personnel emptied the temple courtyard during the King's presence, which is said to have enraged some devotees.
Expressing regrets over the incident, Culture Minister Pradeep Gyawali said some elements tried to take advantage of the situation when there was a brief power outage in the area.
Following the last year's political change, the King is no more the patron of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) and Nepal is no more the Hindu Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the PADT has informed that over 300,000 devotees visited the temple on Friday. nepalnews.com sd Feb 17 07
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