As Haque´s supporters and local people continued to block the Kalyanpur-Bishanpur section of the highway on Wednesday, hundreds of public as well as private vehicles were stranded throughout the day. While vehicles coming from the east have been stranded east of the Koshi barrage, vehicles coming from the west were stranded in Kadmaha and Lahan of Siraha district. [break]
The protesters did not even let the vehicles carrying newspapers pass through the blocked section of the highway. All the press-vehicles heading toward the eastern Nepal with bundles of newspapers, including Republica and Nagarik dailies, have been stranded in Kadmaha.
The locals are angry particularly because the Area Police Office (APO) of Kalyanpur, which is just 200 meters from where Haque was hacked to death, did not know anything about the murder. The protesters say Haque´s murder exposes police incompetence.
Although the local administration held talks with the protestors till late Wednesday night, no agreement has been reached. The protestors have put forth 10-point demands including declaration of Haque as a martyr, compensation to his family as well as security to the Muslim community. However, the authorities say they can consider their demands only when the blocked highway is cleared. As of late Wednesday night, the highway remained blocked with the authorities and the protestors struggling to reach an understanding.
As Haque´s dead body was taken to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science (BPKIHS) in Dharan for postmortem, hundreds of his supporters took out a rally. Before his dead body was returned to Kalayanpur on Wednesday evening, it was taken to several Muslim settlements in Sunsari, Saptari and Siraha districts.
Haque´s family members had refused to receive his dead body on Tuesday. The local administration coaxed them into allowing the police to take Haque´s body to Dharan on condition that the dead body would be returned to his house by Wednesday evening. It is yet not certain when Haque´s dead body will be cremated. "It all depends on how the government addresses this issue," said Irsad Ansari, one of the protestors. "We will not cremate his dead body until the government adresses the concerns of the Muslim community."
Haque´s murder has enraged the Muslim leaders. They say it is continuation in a series of murders of Muslim public figures like Jamim Shah, Faijan Ahmad and Mirja Dilshad Beg.
The Muslim leaders have refused to accept a three-member committee formed by the government to investigate Haque´s killing. They say formation of such probe teams is a ploy by the government to tamper with evidence left by the killers. "If the government wants to genuinely look into this murder case, a high level probe team should be set up under the leadership of a judge belonging to the Muslim community," said Ansari, who is former assistant general secretary of Nepal Student Union (NSU).
Meanwhile, the administration has claimed that a lead has been established to investigate Haque´s murder. "The foundation for investigation has already been built," said Saptari´s Chief District Officer (CDO) Hari Krishna Poudel. "Once the foundation is built, it will not take us a long time to build the wall. We will reach the killers every soon."
The police officers investigating Haque´s murder are tight-lipped about the findings of their investigation so far. They say they will speak to the media only when they conclude their investigation.
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