JTMM kills VDC secretary; VDC secretaries announce nationwide strike

Cadres of the Jwala Singh led faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) have killed VDC secretary Ram Hari Pokharel in Siraha district three days after abducting him on Wednesday morning. The incident has provoked nationwide indefinite strike by the VDC Secretaries Association.

The JTMM's cadres led by "platoon commander" Rajendra Singh escorted Govindapur VDC secretary Pokharel to Bastipur VDC Wednesday morning and killed him by brutally slitting his throat with a sharp object.

Pokharel was abducted along with two local teachers Govinda Karki and Bedh Prasad Sapkota by JTMM cadres on July 15 while they were returning from the Village Development Council office.

The condition and whereabouts of the two teachers is still unknown.

The armed outfit has of late been targeting especially government employees, civil engineers and other innocent villagers of hilly origin living in terai.

Meanwhile, while the government has been arranging for added security to top Maoist leadership, the rank and file of the party are increasingly becoming vulnerable to attacks in the terai region of Nepal. In a latest such incident Maoist activist Hari Pokharel was shot at by unidentified assailants in Dayanagar of Rupandehi district and was wounded in the process.

Unidentified assailants had shot Pokharel while he was sleeping in his home late Tuesday night and had immediately fled from the scene.

Pokharel is currently undergoing treatment in Bhairahawa and his condition is said to be stable.

In another report, an Indian national was murdered in Kalimati area of the capital city Wednesday morning.

Mafar Sheikh Alam, 55, from Motihari of Bihar state of India was murdered by unidentified person(s) by using sharp object at 3:30 am, according to the police.

Alam, who lived in Sundhara of Kathmandu city earned his livelihood by doing several odd jobs. Found in a critical condition, Alam breathed his last while being rushed to the hospital for treatment. nepalnews.com ag July 18 07

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