Nepal protesters arrested during shutdown

Nepal police arrested three protesters yesterday for attacking a police vehicle in the country’s southern region during a four-day shutdown to protest an upcoming election.The protesters also attacked a passenger bus, said Nabin Bhandari, a police officer in Gaur, a town in southeastern Nepal.Traffic was light in the area but shops and schools were open despite the shutdown, he added.The protesters have vowed to disrupt the second round of voting scheduled for later this month.The polls, set to be the first in 20 years, are crucial for the implementation of the country’s controversial new constitution.The first round of voting in mid-May marked the first elections in 20 years and saw turnout of more than 70% in three provinces.In another incident yesterday, protesters detained some 50 polling officers undergoing election training and released them a few hours later in a south-eastern town, said Manish Kumar Suman, a leader of Rashtriya Janata Party Nepal, a political party that represents the protesters, who are dominated by the Madhesi ethnic minority.The party said it will organise another four-day nationwide shutdown of markets, schools, factories, offices and traffic leading up to the polls on June 28.The Madhesis protested against the constitution in 2015, leading to months of unrest and clashes with security forces that left 50 people dead.