10 arsonists, vandals arrested

Sudurpaschchim, Dec 11: Police have arrested ten individuals on charge of vandalizing and setting on fires the Kailali District Court and District Prison Office in Dhangadhi during the Gen-Z protests on September 9.

Those arrested by the police are Ashish Bhandari, 24, from Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City-3; Bharat Bam, originally from Baitadi district and currently residing in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City-3; Aman KC, also from the same locality; Alex Chand, 27, from ward-7; and Laxman Bahadur Bista, 21, and Manoj Bista from ward-1.

Other arrested in the same allegation are Gopal Bhatt, 28, from Dhangadhi2; Suraj Katuwal, known as James, from ward3, Basanta Raj Joshi, 40, from ward9, and Ankit Saxena, 19.

Police Inspector Kailash Singh Bista from the District Police Office reported that the vandals and arsonists were arrested on various dates. A case of criminal nuisance has been initiated against the detainees. Following a complaint demanding investigation into the acts of vandalism and arsons and holding the responsible parties accountable, the police teams apprehended them from different locations.

During the protest, the District Court was set ablaze and vandalized, which resulted in destruction of documents, and furniture, rendering the building to a carcass. Similar was the case of District Prison, Kailali. Some prisoners were allowed to escape before setting fire on the prison building.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the police found an unattended pipe gun concealed in a tree hollow near Lamki Tal of the Saraswati Community Forest, Bhajani Municipality-9 in the district Kailali.