Nembang, who is close to Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, said he was attacked without warning. Nembang been active in uniting rival factions in the trade union. [break]
“Around 20-25 goons sent by Shalik Ram Jammakattel broke into the industrial area, vandalized my motorbike (Ba 39 Pa 1107) and tore my jacket,” Nembang said. He has accused Jammakattel, another ANTUF leader Baburam Gautam and Rajendra Timilsina of attacking him, Nembang said, “All this was done under directions from Jammakattel and Rajendra Timilsina.”
Timilsina had recently been suspended from the trade union for beating up two nursing mothers close to Bajgain at Khanna Garment in January.
“They said they don´t know Kiran and Baburam [Maoist vice chairmen] and that they only know Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal).” said Nembang. He also claimed the New State Committee took a decision to attack him earlier in the morning. Nembang claimed the assailants also hurled obscenities at him.
According to Nembang, he was taken to Kalyan Bhawan, and was only released under pressure from the Bajgain faction of the trade union.
But Timilsina has refuted the allegation. “Nembang had gone to the industrial area to form a parallel committee but our friends did not allow him. He was injured as he fell down from his motorbike while returning from there,” Timalsina said.
Meanwhile, Vice-chairman of the union Badri Bajgain issuing a statement condemned the incident and demanded the party to punish the guilty. “It is an act carried out by non-political individuals,” Bajgain claimed.
The incident has taken place at a time when the conflict between the rival factions in the trade union -- one led by Jammakattel and another by Bajgain -- is at its height.
On Monday, the Jammakattel faction had sacked 12 leaders, including Bajgain, and sought clarification from Nembang, defying a decision of the UCPN (M).
Jammakattel is close to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal while Bajgain to Maoist Senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya.
The Bajgain faction had lately formed parallel committee of the trade union and challenged the legitimacy of Jammakattel as the trade union´s chief.
In its bid to stop the conflict from flaring up further, the party´s standing committee last Friday had decided to dissolve the parallel committee formed by Bajgain and directed the ANTUF central committee to hold its fifth national convention.
Punish guilty: Bhattarai
Reacting to the attack on the trade union leader close to him, Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai has demanded a probe into the incident to identify and punish the guilty. “The meeting of the standing committee meeting tomorrow [Wednesday] will take necessary decision in this regard,” Bhattarai told Republica.
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