Nine people including Indian arrested for looting departmental store in Kathmandu
Kathmandu (PTI): At least nine people, including an Indian national, were arrested for their involvement in looting various items from a departmental store during the pro-monarchy protest in Nepal, police said.
Ravi Ranjan Kumar, a resident of Patna in Bihar, was among those arrested for looting the Bhatbhateni Departmental Store during Friday's protest and vandalism.
The arrested people looted bottles of whiskey, fruits, beer, and make-up items from the store, a police official said.
The police have initiated necessary legal action against those arrested, said a statement issued by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office.
During the pro-monarchy protest in Baneshwor-Tinkune area of Kathmandu, demonstrators pelted stones, attacked the office of a political party, set vehicles on fire and looted shops.
Two persons, including a TV cameraman, were killed and 110 others injured in the clashes between security personnel and the protesters, who were demanding the reinstatement of a Hindu monarch.
Meanwhile, the Kathmandu District Court granted judicial remand for five days to 41 people including the leaders of the pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) to investigate the vandalism.
The Kathmandu district police are charging 41 people, including RPP General Secretary Dhawal Shumsher Rana and Vice President Ravindra Mishra under the State Offense and Organised Crime Act, according to the police.
So far, 110 people have been arrested in connection with the violent protest.
The pro-monarchists have become active since democracy day in February when former monarch Gyanendra Shah said, “Time has come for us to assume responsibility to protect the country and bring about national unity.”
They organised rallies in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, demanding the reinstatement of the 240-year-old monarchy, abolished in 2008.
On Sunday, former vice-chancellor of Nepal Academy Jagman Gurung was appointed the Monarchy Reinstatement Movement Committee chief.
Gurung will take charge as the acting commander of the committee as staunch royalist Navaraj Subedi, the commander of the committee, has been put under house arrest following the violent demonstrations.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
