Indian tourist bus torched in Pokhara

An Indian tourist bus was torched in western Nepal’s lake city of Pokhara by an unidentified group of people, the police said on Monday.

The bus with an Indian number plate was set on fire late Sunday night. Nobody was inside the bus when it was torched.

The incident happened on a day when the CPN-Maoist led by Netrabikram Chand enforced a general strike across the country to protest “India’s blockade” of trading points with Nepal.

During Sunday’s strike, restrictions were put on the airing of Indian news channels, though there were no official notices issued in this regard. Entertainment channels were unaffected.

Indian entertainment television programmes are hugely popular in Nepal despite the ongoing blockade near the Nepal-India border by the Indian-origin Madhesi people.

The restrictions came after the CPN-Maoist, a breakaway faction of UCPN-Maoist, called for a ban on Indian TV channels in Nepal.

Madhesis have been protesting near the border trading points for more than two months over the new Constitution. Relations between India and Nepal have nosedived over the issue.