Nepal Parliament adjourned after Opposition parties protest, demand probe into Sarlahi incident

Lawmakers from Nepal's opposition parties like the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) obstructed Monday's parliamentary session demanding a probe into Sarlahi incident.

The protesting parliamentarians got off their seats as soon as the House Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara announced the commencement of the meeting.

The members then came onto the rostrum while raising slogans and demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the reasons behind Kumar Poudel and Kewal Mahato's death in Sarlahi.

Even though Nepal's Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had addressed the concerns raised by the lawmakers on July 9, the opposition had always objected to it and wanted a parliamentary committee to probe into the incidents.

On June 20, Kumar Poudel, the district (Sarlahi) in-charge of the banned Nepal Communist Party (led by Netra Bikram Chand), was killed in an encounter with the police. The opposition has claimed that the incident was cold-blooded murder in the form of encounter.

Kewal Mahato, a resident of Sarlahi, was killed in a clash between the police and locals demonstrating against the death of 12-year-old Amit Raya on June 30. Raya had died after falling into a water pit, which had developed due to illegal sand mining.

Mahato, one of the protestors in the mass demonstration, died after a bullet hit him on his forehead. Nepal's Home Minister had told the parliament that the bullet was fired into the air, a claim which has been rejected by lawmakers from the Opposition.

As the parliamentarians protested, House Speaker Mahara tried to calm them down by stating that the government and the parliament had paid attention. However, continued protests led to the adjournment of the meeting.

The next House of Representatives meeting is scheduled for July 31 at 11 am.