3 killed in Southern Nepal over new draft of constitution

Three persons have been killed when police opened fire into a crowd of demonstrators on Wednesday as fresh protests erupted in Nepal's southern plains over a new draft constitution, police officials told Xinhua.

The incident took place in Jaleshwor Municipality of Mahottari district of Southern Nepal came two weeks after violent clashes in Kailali District Far-Western Nepal, which witnessed the brutal killing of eight police officials and an 18-month-old boy by the agitating Tharu community.

Nepal Police Spokesman Kamal Singh Bam told Xinhua that the police was forced to open fire to control the crowd as hundreds of demonstrators belonging to the Madheshi parties tried to set fire at a local police station with domestic weapons such as knives, swords and axes.

According to police officials, the demonstrators belonging to Madheshi parties also set fire on the house of the district court judge in Mahottari.

Earlier on Wednesday, a demonstrator was killed in Saptari District of Southern Nepal in a clash between the police and the protestors against the constitution.

Anger has been grown-up in the southern part of the Himalayan country after major political parties--the Nepali Congress, CPN- UML, UCPN (Maoist) clinched a breakthrough deal on the new statute spurred by the April 25 devastating earthquake.

The Madheshi parties have been agitated since the major parties forged an agreement to federate the country into seven provinces along with their delineation through the new constitution some three weeks ago.

According to the country's Home Ministry 33 people including ten police officials have been killed over the past few weeks in Southern part of the country during the separate cases of violence between the police and demonstrators against the proposed constitution.

Source: XINHUA