Police shot dead at least three demonstrators after protests by ethnic Madhesi community turned violent in southern Nepal, reports said Thursday, according to DPA. According to independent Kantipur television, three protestors were killed when police opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators trying to set government buildings on fire in the town of Inarwa, about 120 kilometres south of the Nepalese capital. At least 30 protestors were injured in the police action, the television said. The local administration has imposed curfew following the violence. The violence came a day after Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala went on national television and radio to appeal for calm. He also offered federal structure of governance and proportional representation in the electoral system, key demand of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) that has been spearheading the protests. However, his appeal has gone largely unnoticed by the protesting groups. The latest deaths brings the total number of people killed in two weeks of violence in south and south eastern plains know as Terai to at least 13. Several towns in the region have been placed under curfew to try to bring the situation under control. However, government efforts appear to have incited violence rather than bringing thje situation under control. Violence first erupted in the town of Lahan, about 140 kilometres southeast of the Nepalese capital, on January 19 after a MPRF supporter was shot dead by Maoist activists.
