Bus carrying Indians 'attacked' near Kathmandu amid Nepal unrest; several injured

The driver said that the incident happened when the bus was returning from the temple as protesters targeted the vehicle near Sonauli, injuring women and elderly passengers.

Maharajganj: An Indian tourist bus returning from the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu was allegedly attacked by protesters amid the ongoing unrest in Nepal, leaving several passengers injured, the bus driver has claimed.

The alleged incident took place on September 9 near Sonauli on the India-Nepal border, when the agitators targeted the bus carrying 49 Indians. Stones were reportedly pelted, shattering windows and injuring passengers, including women and the aged, the driver claimed.

According to reports, the local authorities admitted the injured to a hospital in Kathmandu, while the remaining passengers were flown back to India on a special plane arranged by the Indian Embassy with the help of the Nepalese government.

Talking to reporters in Sonauli here, bus driver Ramu Nishad said: "We were returning after having darshan (at the Pashupatinath temple), when suddenly a mob surrounded our bus and attacked without reason. There were women and elderly people among the passengers, but the protesters did not care."

Youth-led Gen Z group, which spearheaded the anti-government protests in Nepal, had on Thursday said Parliament must be dissolved and the Constitution should be amended to reflect the will of the people, as the death toll from the demonstrations increased to 34.

The Gen Z protesters organised a press meet here to express their views, while some of their representatives were busy holding discussions with President Ramchandra Paudel and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel at the Army Headquarters to find a solution to the current political crisis.