DHAKA: Nepali police shot dead at least four protesters and killed a fifth on Tuesday as demonstrators threw stones and petrol bombs, angry at a new planned constitution.

The government and major political parties hope that the constitution, in the works for seven years, will provide much-needed political stability and bolster economic development in the Himalayan nation, which is still reeling from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year.

Protesters in Nepal’s southern plains have been agitating for weeks against plans to divide the small area into several provinces, part of an overhaul envisaged under a federal constitution that politicians are now finalizing.

More than 20 people have died in protests since those plans were unveiled two weeks ago, with members of two large plains communities demanding greater autonomy under the charter.

Police official Kamal Singh Bam said police shot and killed four demonstrators in the town of Birjung in Parsa district, 60 km south of Kathmandu, when a police post was attacked with stones and petrol bombs, reports Times of India.

BDST: 2200 HRS, SEPT 01, 2015
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