As part of their protest programs, the locals, under the banner of Mithila State Struggle Committee, blocked the East-West Highway in Dhanusha for two hours from 10 am Wednesday. [break]
The committee, whose venue of peaceful protest programs was ripped apart by the deadly blast on April 30, 2012, has warned of continuing its protest unless the police arrest all the perpetrators.
“We want to take our struggle to a meaningful end,” said Parmeshwor Kapadi, coordinator of the committee. “We do not want to let go of the sacrifice of our people.”
The police had arrested four people within two weeks of the blast. While Jay Prakash Chaudhary of Saptari was arrested from the blast site, Mukesh Karna and Suresh Karna of Dhanusha and Ripendra Jha of Mahottari were arrested by the police later. They are languishing in Jaleshwor Jail, Mahottari.
DIG Upendra Kanta Aryal, the then chief of Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), who organized a press conference in Janakpur a few days after the blast, had concluded that the blast was carried out by Tarai Jantantrik Mutki Morcha (Rajan Mukti) -- an armed outfit active in a few Tarai districts.
However, Mukti, whose real name is Ranjit Jha, is still at large. Mukesh Chaudhary of Dhanusha, Jitendra Karna of Mahottari and Aaditya Dev Babul of Saptari, who were recognized by the police as involved in plotting the blast, are also absconding. After the arrest of four people, the police have not made any progress in the investigation.
The committee has also submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar, asking the government to bring all the perpetrators to the book. Among the five people killed in the blast was promising theatre artiste Ranju Jha.
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