INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
RAUTAHAT, MAY 12CPN-UML mayoral candidate Santosh Mehata was assaulted by the supporters of another party in Ishanath
Municipality, Rautahat, last night.
Birds fall from the sky as heatwave scorches India
"If Kathmandu was a company and the people of Kathmandu their investors, who would they select as its CEO?"
Mayoral Candidate Sushil Thapa
Mehata was
returning from the wedding ceremony of his relative in Ghiura village when the incident happened.
He was attacked by a
group of Nepali Congress cadres led by NC candidate Anju Jha somewhere between Laxmaniya and Paltuwa villages.While Mehata has received
injuries on his arms, Shashibhushan Mehata and Bikram Mehata received head injury when the cadres of Nepali Congress fell on the UML mayoral
candidate's jeep with brickbats.Also a former mayor, Mehata is contesting the local elections this time as well, seeking a second
term.Regarding the assault, Mehata also blamed police
"Apparently, it was a premeditated attack staged with the help of the police administration.Police had me attacked by NC cadres and they
simply looked on."Further, Mehata lamented the lack of security for candidates of parties other than Nepali Congress and sought fair
investigation into last night's attack on him and the involvement of police personnel.He also sought action against the guilty
He expressed doubt whether the election to be held by the current coalition government would be fair.Revealing more about the incident,
Mehata said he was phoned and invited to the site by a policeman before being attacked
"In fact, it was a design of police and NC cadres to finish me off, " Mehata claimed.Meanwhile, SP Binod Ghimire of District Police Office
said Mehata was escorted to his home following the attack."After we learnt that locals had surrounded him, we reached the site and safely
escorted him home," said the SP, pledging investigation into the incident and alleged police involvement.A version of this article appears
in the print on May 13, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com