Nepal: Protests on vandalism of Mosque turn violent; curfew imposed

Kathmandu: The local administration in Nepal's Parsa district on Monday imposed a curfew in parts of Birgunj city, which borders Raxaul in India, to prevent possible religious strife following the vandalism of a mosque in southern Dhanusha district on Saturday, according to an IANS report.

After a video showing the vandalism of the mosque circulated on social media, members of Nepal's Muslim community staged protests in Birgunj on Sunday, chanting slogans and burning tyres on the streets. Protests also erupted in other parts of Madhesh Province, including Kamala Municipality in Dhanusha district.

According to police, tensions were triggered by a TikTok video in which two youths, who claimed to be Muslims, made offensive remarks about Hindus, and a group of Hindus vandalized the mosque.

With protests by the Muslim community intensifying from Sunday, the District Administration Office, Parsa, on Monday imposed a prohibitory order banning any kind of fair, public meeting, procession, or protest in certain areas of Birgunj city, effective from 1 pm on Monday until further notice.

According to the order, such activities have been banned within the periphery stretching from the bus park in the east, Sirsiya Bridge in the west, Power House Chowk in the north, and Shankaracharya Gate in the south of the city.

There were other videos online in which “unidentified” people were vandalizing a mosque and burning the Quran. The miscreants also set the mosque on fire.