Kathmandu, Jan 28: Police today cracked down on thousands of students protesting against the King and the government across Nepal, beating demonstrators with batons and detaining several of them, witnesses said. Faced with growing calls for democratic reform and near daily protests, the government issued an order last week banning all public gatherings in the capital, Katmandu. Despite the ban, students nationwide coordinated rallies for today.

Police fired into the air to disperse an anti-government rally in Nepalgunj, about 500 kilometers west of the capital, Katmandu, after students pelted stones at them.
Police and witnesses said at least a dozen people were injured in the clash, but few details were immediately available. Witnesses said a few thousand people had attended the protest.

Students had called a general strike in the town, and shops and businesses were still shut after the rally.

A protest also took place in the eastern industrial city of Biratnagar, about 600 kilometers east of Kathmandu, with police arresting 30 people, according to police and witnesses. Bureau Report