SARLAHI, July 12: The Malangwa bazaar in Sarlahi district came to a complete halt on Saturday following a shutdown called by the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) to protest alleged excess police action.
The party enforced a two-day shutdown demanding the withdrawal of what it calls a “false case” against Ashok Yadav, the Madhesh Province Chair of JSP, and disciplinary action against Sarlahi’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Yogendra Kumar Khadka.
In response, JSP cadres closed all shops and halted transport services from early Saturday morning, bringing daily life in the district headquarters to a standstill.
Curfew lifted in Malangwa after 4 days, prohibitory orders stil...
On Friday evening, JSP supporters had taken out a torch rally through Malangwa bazaar. As a result of the strike, all factories in the area remained closed, and no long or short-distance vehicles could operate through the Malangwa–Nawalpur feeder road.
“This protest will continue until the fabricated charges against our leader are dropped,” said Shambhu Prasad Yadav, the district president of JSP Sarlahi.
The District Court, Sarlahi, had earlier issued an arrest warrant against JSP leader Yadav. Last week, the District Police Office, Sarhali, had deployed over 1,000 personnel across the district in an attempt to arrest him. However, even a week after the court's order, police have not been able to take him into custody.
The confrontation stems from an incident last week at the Infrastructure Office in Malangwa. According to JSP, only those willing to pay commissions were issued checks late at night under police watch. An argument ensued between leader Yadav and SP Khadka, reportedly escalating to verbal abuse. Later that night, police attempted to arrest Yadav from his residence, during which angry locals vandalized a police vehicle.
The shutdown has disrupted normal life in Malangwa. Protesters were seen burning tires in Salempur Chowk along the Malangwa–Nawalpur road section. A large number of security personnel have been deployed throughout the district headquarters.
