A town in Nepal has imposed a lockdown after tension between two communities escalated over a ‘contentious’ social media post. According to a report by Kathmandu Post, the incident occurred in Nepalgunj, also spelt Nepalganj– a Sub-Metropolitan City in Banke District, after a Hindu boy posted a ‘controversial status’ about Muslims on social media. This resulted in communal tensions in the Hindu-dominated country.
As per the media report, Muslims protested the status inside the region’s main government administrator’s office building, burned tires on the streets and blocked traffic. Initially, the administration imposed a curfew for 24 hours on Monday and later, it was extended until further orders.
The indefinite curfew was imposed since Tuesday afternoon in Nepalgunj, about 400 kilometres west of the capital, Kathmandu, directly after the Hindu protest came under attack.
People gathering banned
Area police chief Santosh Rathore said officers were patrolling the city and people were not allowed to leave their homes or gather in groups during the lockdown. There were no reports of any trouble overnight, nor on Wednesday morning.
Officials said they needed to impose the stay-at-home order and stop people from gathering together to prevent any more clashes between the two sides.
Communal violence is not common in Nepal, which is a Hindu-majority country that turned secular just a few years ago. Muslims make up roughly a third of Nepalgunj’s population, and only about 14% of India’s population, which shares a border with the Nepal town and has seen a widening religious divide.
(With inputs from agency)
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