Nepal to form probe commission to look into Lahan incident

Nepal's all-party meeting decided to recommend government to constitute a high level probe commission to investigate the Lahan incident on Monday.

The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu on Monday.

Leaders of Nepal's eight political parties gathered for the meeting. They expressed deep regret over the death of Ramesh Kumar Mahato, a student and member of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF, also called as the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum), and incidents of vandalism and arson that took place in Lahan municipality of Siraha district which is some 150 kilometers to the southeast of capital Kathmandu.

Party leaders recommended the government to take stern action those involved in the death of Mahato and provide appropriate compensation to the family members of the deceased.

Speaking to the media persons following the meeting, Nepali home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that considering the constituent assembly election as a primary objective of the present government, leaders of eight political parties expressed commitment to restore peace and good governance in the country.

Home Minister Sitaula also stated that he was on way to hold dialogue with the transport entrepreneurs to end the indefinite strike that had crippled the daily life throughout the nation.

CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (formerly known as guerilla) Dev Gurung apologized for the fault of the CPN cadres committed in Lahan.

Ramesh Mahato was shot dead in a shoot-out breaking out on Friday when MPRF tried to stop the CPN' vehicles for violating the general strike in Lahan it had called.

The irked Lahan locals' vandalizing and torching public vehicles from Friday, which ignited indefinite nationwide transport strike from Sunday on. Meanwhile, MPRF torched government and CPN offices in south Nepal. Accordingly, local government clamped curfew in Lahan since Friday.

MPRF is a section of people in Nepali terai region with Indian origin