New Delhi: Communal tensions flared Tuesday in Nepal’s two districts bordering India, leading to temporary sealing of cross-border movement as protests over a vandalised mosque and an alleged religiously offensive social media post turned violent.
Curfew was imposed till Wednesday morning in Birgunj, bordering Bihar’s Raxaul.
The move followed days of demonstrations sparked by a dispute in Dhanusha district’s Kamala municipality, where a mosque was vandalised after a TikTok video containing alleged religiously provocative content went viral, according to local reports.
Both Birgunj and Dhanusha lie along the India-Nepal border.
According to Himalayan Times, protest marches were held despite a curfew in place since Monday. According to reports, two youths claiming to be Muslims, allegedly made derogatory comments against Hindus which then led to a group vandalising a mosque.
Reports said that protests began in Dhanusha Sunday and quickly spread to Birgunj, a major commercial hub opposite the Indian town of Raxaul. Demonstrators in Birgunj burned tyres, chanted slogans and gathered at several intersections and clashes broke out with police. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse crowds, injuring at least seven personnel, officials said.
In Dhanusha, the police detained three people accused of posting the TikTok video and of involvement in the mosque vandalism, according to Ganesh Bam, a deputy superintendent of police and spokesperson for the district force quoted in the report.
Nepalese authorities said the initial dispute was triggered by religiously targeted comments shared online.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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