Nepal Timeline - 2008

January 3	The Terai-Madhesh Democratic Party submitted an 11-point demand to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The demands put forth by the party include constitutional guarantee of autonomy with right to self determination for Terai-Madhesh region; declaring the 42 people killed during the Madhesh agitation in 2007 as martyrs; providing relief and compensation to injured; formation of a new independent commission to probe alleged atrocities during the Madhesh agitation; recruitment of Madheshi people in Nepali Army proportional to their population; and allocation of budget based on population, among others.
January 4	Cadres of the Jwala Singh faction of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-J) shot dead a civilian, identified as Hari Prasad Chaulagain, a resident of Bardibas-3 of Mahottari district. The Young Communist League (YCL) cadres assaulted local traders in the Khodpe Bazaar of Baitadi district for organising a vehicle strike in protest against the YCL atrocities.
January 6	YCL cadres assaulted and injured a former chairman of the Lamachaur Village Development Committee (VDC), Durga Bahadur, and a Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist-Leninist (CPN-UML) activist, Om Bahadur Kunwar, in the Kaski district alleging that the duo was involved in corruption. In a reference to the integration of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the Nepali Army, the Chief of Army Staff, Rookmangud Katawal, has said that the Nepali Army would not accept induction of any political ideology in the army. "In the name of institutionalising the peace process, any political ‘ism’ or ideology should not be introduced in the Nepali Army," he said. Katawal added that there should be no political influence on the Nepali Army. "Political influence on the Nepali Army will only invite bigger problems in the country," he stated.
January 7	Cadres of the Prithvi Singh faction of the JTMM detonated three bombs at three different places in the Birgunj town of Parsa district. According to police, the explosions occurred at Ghantaghar, Bypass Road and near the Truck Entrepreneurs Association office in the town. Police arrested a leader of the JTMM-J, identified as Raj Kumar Mandal, from Lalitpur. A revolver was also seized from his possession.
January 8	Security forces arrested two cadres of the JTMM-J, identified as Bhavikhan Mahato and Lal Babu Mahato, at Jeetpur in the Bara district. A twelve-bore gun and a homemade pistol were also recovered from their possession.
January 9	A senior officer of the District Development Committee of the Kapilvastu district, Niranjan Poudel, was abducted by a group of armed cadres of the JTMM from the Tirtikhi VDC area. YCL cadres seized over a tonne of ginger planted in a farm belonging to one Laxmi Das Shrestha of Sarandanda-5 in Panchthar district. Later Shrestha said that, "They asked for donation and when I denied to pay up they took control of the ginger plantation on over two ropanis of land worth NR 20,000."
January 11	A cabinet meeting decided to hold the Constituent Assembly elections on April 10, 2008. Emerging from the cabinet meeting, Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said, "The cabinet meeting made the decision in an amicable manner and the government will concentrate on the Constituent Assembly elections setting it as the major agenda." Leaders of the three major political parties, Prime Minister and Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala, Maoist Chairman Prachanda and the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has also reached an agreement not to make any remarks in public that would adversely affect the environment for the elections.
January 12	Cadres of the JTMM-J shot dead a journalist, identified as Pushpa Shrestha, in front of the Kanya Lower Secondary School in Birgunj Municipility-3 of Parsa district. The Parsa district in-charge of JTMM-J, Toofan Singh, claimed responsibility for the killing. A CPN-Maoist Central Committee meeting decided to relieve deputy commander Barsha Man Pun a.k.a. Ananta from his position as the YCL ‘faction in-charge’ amidst reports of the increased high-handedness of the YCL cadres. According to sources, the Central Committee meeting took the decision to this effect after some of its members criticised the recent activities of the YCL and held Ananta responsible for it.
January 14	Eight persons were injured when a bomb exploded near Bhotahiti in the capital Kathmandu, minutes after a mass gathering of the seven parties to launch their election campaigning concluded. Eyewitnesses said they heard explosion in the middle of the road at the busy Ratnapark-Bhotahity intersection which lies few hundred meters from Khula Mach, the venue of the seven-party mass meeting. The bomb hurled by an unidentified person also damaged two vehicles. A team from the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a Kathmandu-based human rights non-governmental organisation, found that the Maoists are continuing to operate labour camps in many parts of the country. INSEC found that six persons in Salyan, 20 in Rukum, seven in Pyuthan, and six in Jajarkot districts are serving jail terms in such labour camps. The terms were handed down by the CPN-Maoist 'Kangaroo Courts' in the past. "The detainees cook food, clean the school and cooking utensils, serve the teachers and students, and carry loads for Maoists," said Pratibedan Baidhya, the leader of the INSEC team. The detainees are also reportedly not paid for their work.
January 17	Himalayan Times reports that the Maoists are still running their kangaroo court in the Dhangadhi municipality of Kailali district, in violation of the agreement with the government. Kharga Rana of the Beladevi Village Development Committee received a letter from the people’s justice cooperation committee asking him to attend the people’s court on January 27. The CPN-Maoist district secretary Utsav said that the people’s court was trying to streamline the issues between the people, police and administration, adding that, "This is not against the spirit of the peace treaty." JTMM-J leader Jwala Singh said that his party is ready to negotiate with the government under the supervision of the United Nations or any other reliable international agency, according to Nepal News. He set a precondition that the government should give its commitment that major demands of his party would be addressed by the time formal talks begin.
January 19	Security forces arrested two cadres of the JTMM-J, identified as Shanker Giri and Mahadev Sahani, with a pistol at Gaur Municipality-1 in the Rautahat district.
January 20	JTMM-J cadres abducted and subsequently shot dead a government servant, Purna Prasad Dhakal, in the Banke district. Dhakal, who worked as a clerk at the Land Reforms Office, was whisked away from Raniyapur village in Banke district on January 19-night, and his bullet-ridden body was found on January 20-morning three kilometers away from Sidhiniya Ghaat in the Gamdi VDC. JTMM-J cadres seized five tractors in Maryadapur VDC in the Rautahat district. JTMM-J area no. 3 in-charge, Jhaman Yadav, has said that the tractors were seized for failing to secure permits.
January 20	YCL cadres abducted three activists of the Nepali Congress, identified as Satya Narayan Yadav, Ram Ekwal Yadav and Nem Kumar Thakur, in the Siraha district.
January 21	The Madhesh Mukti Tigers (MMT) cadres detonated seven bombs in Rajbiraj, headquarters of the Saptari district, ahead of the visit of the Minister of state for Home Affairs, Ram Kumar Chaudhary, to his hometown. A bomb exploded at the district development committee meeting hall prior to Chaudhary’s arrival, where a welcome ceremony was scheduled to be held. Later, a series of blasts continued at Siraha road, near the municipality building, near the Nepali Congress office, near the Sajha offset press, next to Ansari Mini Market and at Jana Andolan Chowk. However, no casualty was reported in the blasts.
January 23	Cadres of the YCL killed the three Nepali Congress activists, Satya Narayan Yadav, Neem Chandra Thakur, and Ram Ikbaal Yadav, who were abducted by them on January 20. Police found their dead bodies buried on the bank of Kamala River at Kichana VDC in the Siraha district.
January 25	Cadres of the Joint Madhesi Morcha showed black flags to the Nepali Congress central leaders who came to Rajbiraj to address a party cadres’ assembly. One policeman and six demonstrators were hurt in the riot that ensued. While the meeting was going on at the District Development Committee hall, two bombs were exploded, but no casualties were reported. Number 4 area in charge of the JTMM-J, Ranjit, claimed responsibility for the blasts. One dozen demonstrators were also arrested.
January 26	Several bombs were detonated at different places in Janakapura on January 25-evening ahead of the seven parties joint meet to be held at Janakapura. Two bombs were exploded at Piradi Chowk and another at Ramananda Chowk. Only minor damages were reported as the bombs weren't very powerful. MMT triggered a series of bomb explosions in Inaruwa, headquarters of the Sunsari district. The blasts occurred at Bihibarehat area where senior Nepali Congress leaders were attending a gathering of the party workers. However, no casualty was reported in the blasts. Maoists allegedly seized a Nepali Congress activist, Pratap Devkota, on the charge of gathering people for a Nepali Congress mass meeting at Khalanga in the Rukum district. Maoists detained Devkota for one hour when he was returning to his village after the meeting. He was later released with the help of Police.
January 27	JTMM-J cadres exploded a petrol bomb at the CPN-Maoist district office at Rajhaul in the Dhanusa district. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.
January 28	Cadres of the JTMM-J shot dead a youth in the Dhanusa district. A group headed by JTMM-J cadre, Tiger Singh, shot dead Madan Kumar Lama while he was on his way home at Puspalnagar in the Dhanusa district from Kathmandu, on charge of spying against them. Cadres of the YCL captured a house belonging to one Bhuwan Singh Gurung in Khandbari-3 in the Sankhuwasabha district after he failed to pay the donation amount demanded from him.
January 29	YCL cadres clashed with some policemen at Kabeli bazaar in the Panchthar district when the policemen attempted to check a passenger bus carrying some YCL cadres, among others. During the clash which continued for half-an-hour the YCL cadres reportedly seized the weapons of a policeman. CPN-Maoist cadres surrounded the Rautahat District Administration Office demanding release of their detained colleague, Jaya Ram Yadav, on a murder charge. The Maoists' district in-charge, Ashok Jaysawal Yadav, threatened to boycott elections in the Rautahat district if Yadav were not released. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said he is ready to meet all the just demands made by disgruntled Madhesi groups if they show a readiness to take part in the forthcoming Constituent Assembly election. Addressing a function in Kathmandu, Koirala said, "I want to tell the Madhesi friends that they just need to become ready to participate in the elections, then it will be for me to meet all the just demands they are raising." Stressing that only dialogue can resolve the Terai problem, the Prime Minister also urged the Terai groups to come to the negotiating table.
January 30	Around 54 persons, including the Chief District Officer of Parsa district, Bhola Prasad Siwakoti, were injured in an explosion that occurred outside the Narayani Stadium in Birgunj where the Seven Party Alliance was holding its final electoral assembly. Meanwhile, Kanchan Bidrohi, the Parsa district in-charge of the MMT, has claimed responsibility for the blasts. Police arrested the Siraha district commander of the JTMM-G, Prithvi Lal Yadav alias Jasho Lal. A report of the National Human Rights Commission regional office in Biratnagar has revealed that the Maoists are yet to return the seized land and property belonging to 38 families of Rajbiraj in the Saptari district. Maoist district secretary Suryanath Yadav alias Subash said that they were ready to return the seized land and property as per the direction of the party. "We have returned most of the land and property we had seized," he claimed. Seized land and property will be distributed to the poor, needy, landless and squatters, he added.
January 31	Cadres of the JTMM-J shot dead a guard at a community forest project in Sarlahi district. Police informed that the security guard, identified as Karna Bahadur Biswokarma, was shot dead while he was on duty at the Sagarnath Community Forest Project at Gaurishankhar VDC.
February 2	An 8-year-old girl was injured when an explosion occurred few meters away at Sakhuwagachi of Inaruwa in the Sunsari district, where senior Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was attending a mass meeting. The MMT has claimed responsibility for the blast. Protesting the detention of over two dozens YCL cadres by India’s Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) in Maheshpur border area in the Jhapa district, the YCL cadres resorted to vandalism and rampage, and targeted at vehicles with Indian number plates in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari district on February 2, Nepal News reports. They set ablaze to two Indian vehicles - one truck and a jeep – in the Jhapa district and an Indian truck at Biratnagar in the Morang district. The YCL has also imposed a ban on the plying of Indian vehicles in the three districts.
February 3	More than a dozen of bomb explosions rocked Rajbiraj town, the headquarters of Saptari district on February 3. The blasts took place close to Raj Stadium where the Nepali Congress was organising its election rally which was to be addressed by senior Nepali Congress leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Around a dozen of persons, including two policemen, were injured in the blasts. 51 persons suspected to have been involved with the blasts have been arrested so far.
February 4	20 persons, including eight policemen were inured at Nepalgunj in the Banke district when cadres of the United Madhesi Front (UMF) clashed with police on February 4 on the second day of the bandh called by the UMF. Marketplaces, educational institutions and industries remain largely closed and vehicular transport came to a halt in Siraha, Saptari, Bara, Parsa, Mahottari, Rautahat and Dhanusha districts. The bandh has partially affected Sunsari, Morang, Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi and Rupendehi districts. Eight MJF cadres, including president of the Youth Madhesi Forum Rajendra Yadav, were injured in a clash with police in Nawalparasi. The clash ensued as police tried to reopen the Butwal-Bardaghat road section. MJF supporters barred vehicles from plying on Basachowk of the road section along the Mahendra Highway. Cadres of the YCL assaulted the District Education Officer of Saptari, Afsad Ali, in his office. Three YCL cadres were arrested in connection with the manhandling Ali. JTMM-G published a list of 37 persons of Sunsari district and threatened to initiate ‘physical action’ them. ‘Physical action’ ranges from physical assaults to murder. The list includes names of person from various walks of life such as civil servants, teachers and entrepreneurs.
February 5	At least 20 persons, including three policemen, were injured after cadres of the Tarai-Madhesh Democratic Party and United Madhesi Front clashed with the police at Jaleshwor in the Mahottari district. The clash ensued after the protesters staged demonstration outside Jaleshwor Stadium where Nepali Congress senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was addressing workers’ meeting. JTMM-J cadres detonated six bombs on the premises of the District Education Office, at Zero Mile and Sahujipatti area in the Mahottari district. Activists of Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoists clashed in the Latinath Village Development Committee area of Darchula district after the Maoists tried to disrupt the election campaign of the Nepali Congress. Two Maoists were injured in the incident after police used force to foil any untoward incidents. Police arrested two JTMM-J cadres, identified as Jibat Kumar Mahato and Ram Chadra Mahato, from Lahan area in the Siraha district and recovered two hand-made guns and 3 rounds of SLR bullets from them.
February 6	Several bombs were detonated at Malangawa, the district headquarters of Sarlahi, where a mass meeting of the Nepali Congress was in progress. The bombs were detonated some 100 metres away from the venue of the meeting. However, no casualties were reported. Police raided the central office of the YCL at Balaju in Kathmandu, reportedly, for concealed weapons inside the office.
February 7	Two JTMM-J cadres were killed by police in the Saptari district. According to the police, Chandreshwar Kamat alias Sher Singh and Raj Kumar Mandal alias Ranjit of the JTMM-J were shot dead when they clashed with police at Belichapena VDC. Cadres of the JTMM-G shot dead an elderly person, Keshab Bahadur Gurung, in the Rupandehi district. Gurung, a canteen owner at Sukha Bandargaha in Bagaha VDC, was reportedly killed on charge of spying against the JTMM-G.
February 10	YCL cadres set ablaze a post set up by the Rautahat District Development Committee to collect revenue near Dhansarpur of East-West Highway.
February 11	Around 100 YCL cadres disrupted a programme organised by the Nepali Congress in the Rupakot VDC area of the Tanahu district. They also assaulted the former minister and Nepali Congress leader, Govinda Raj Joshi, and vandalised the podium erected there.
February 13	Around 3,000 Maoist insurgents attacked the Latinath police post in Darchula district for arresting two of their cadres who were arrested for their reported involvement in the recent attack on Nepali Congress leader and former minister Dilendra Badu in Latinath. JTMM-J cadres abducted a Rural Health Worker, Rajeshwor Prasad Sah, from Siraha district.
February 15	Two persons were injured when cadres of the JTMM-J detonated a pressure cooker bomb at the District Election Office in Nepalgunj in the Banke district.
February 17	The Bara-Parsa districts coordinator of the JTMM-G, Binod Mahato, was shot dead by an unidentified group at Bairganiyaa Bazaar in Bihar in India.
February 18	At least 20 persons were injured when JTMM-J cadres attacked a wedding house at Katani village in the Rangapur VDC area of Rautahat district. They also abducted four girls from there, three of whom were released later. They also looted property worth NR one lakh, including gold ornaments.
February 21	Around 60 persons were injured in six districts of the Terai region on the ninth day of the indefinite strike called by the United Democratic Madhesh Front (UMDF). More than 100 people were arrested and 30 buses were vandalised during the strike. Curfew was imposed in headquarters Siraha and Lahan municipality of Siraha district, Inaruwa and the Mahendra highway section in Sunsari district, Biratnagar of Morang district, Nepalgunj of Banke district and in the Parsa district.
February 22	60 persons, including five policemen and four journalists, were injured in clashes between activists of the UMDF and police in Rautahat and Dhanusha districts. Four Maoists were injured in a clash that broke out between workers of the CPN-UML and the Maoists in the Arghakhanchi district. The clash ensued after the Maoist cadres tried to obstruct the election rally of the CPN-UML in Hatiya of Nuwakot VDC in the district. An Armed Police Force head constable, Shyam Kumar Kashyap, was abducted by cadres of the JTMM-J at the Krishnanagar custom office in the Kapilvastu district.
February 23	Cadres of JTMM-J led by the area in-charge, Gabbar, abducted a civilian, Narayan Prasad Upadhyay, in Mahottari district. The JTMM-J district in-charge, Surya, told journalists that, "Upadhyay was abducted as he was tilling 14 bighas of land that was seized by JTMM-J without the permission of the party."
February 24	21 persons were injured in clashes between agitators and the police across the Terai region as an indefinite strike called by the UMDF. Four persons were injured at Janakpur in the Dhanusha district when clashes ensued between agitators and police at the Bhanu Chowk, municipality office, Shiva Chowk and the Mills area. Agitators also set ablaze the Election Commission office at Kalaiya of Bara district. One policeman and three UMDF cadres sustained burn injuries while three cadres were hurt in police action.
February 25	Cadres of the JTMM-J shot dead Sukraraj Majhi Chaudhary, head constable of Armed Police Force, at Inaruwa bazaar of Sunsari district. The Government and the UDMF arrived at a consensus on the key UDMF demand - One Madhesh One Pradesh - which they said would be decided through the Constituent Assembly. They also agreed to form an autonomous Madhesh state and other autonomous states. "We have agreed on autonomous Madhesh state. But we are still discussing proper words to reflect the desire of Madheshi people regarding the autonomous Madhesh state," said Madheshi leader Hridayesh Tripathi. The government and UDMF have also agreed to recognise all those killed in the course of the Madhesh movement as martyrs and provide their families with proper compensation. They have agreed to amend the Election Commission Act, which provisions that any political party which secures at least 20 percent result or more under the First-Past-the-Post system must prepare an inclusive list of candidates for the proportional electoral system. "We have agreed to increase the provision from 20 to 30 percent," said Tripathi.
February 26	One person was killed in police firing in the Nawalparasi district on the 14th day of the indefinite strike called by the UDMF. The victim was identified as Jagadesh Pashwan of Badahada, Bubailia-3. YCL cadres assaulted a school teacher, Sanukaji Baniya, in Ghyampesal village of the Gorkha district.
February 27	One person, identified as Mohammad Biskut Miya, was killed and six others were injured when police opened fire at a group of protesters for violating the curfew orders in Duhabi area of Sunsari district. Two persons were injured when cadres of the JTMM-G attacked a passenger bus, which was part of a convoy of vehicles coming from Kathmandu under a police escort for security, with petrol bombs in the Golbazaar area of Siraha district.
February 28	The Government and the agitating UDMF signed an eight-point agreement bringing an end to the indefinite strike in the Terai region. Three minor partners of the Seven Party Alliance - the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Janamorcha Nepal and United Left Front - expressed disagreement with the deal reached between the Government and the UDMF.
March 1	JTMM-G killed Gokarna Kandel, a Nepali Congress leader, near his house in the Rupandehi district. Cadres of the Terai Mukti Tigers abducted two police personnel of the Loharpattti area police office from Kataiya village in the Mahottari district. Superintendent of Police Purna Singh Khadka said that constables Santosh Kumar Singh and Suresh Kumar Raut Kurmi were abducted by the TMT cadres when they went to Sitapur Bhangaha to settle a dispute over a drinking water tank there.
March 2	JTMM-G, which was formed on July 25, 2004, has changed its party’s name to All Terai Liberation Front (ATLF). The JTMM-G central coordinator Goit said that the name of the party has been changed so as to be distinct from other factions of JTMM. Three armed outfits in the Terai region – the Samyukta Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, Madhesi Mukti Tigers and Terai Cobra - have reportedly agreed to sit for talks with the government provided there is "enabling atmosphere for it." Issuing a joint statement they said that, "We are not against talks, and if there is an enabling atmosphere for it then we are ready to come for talks."
March 3	Cadres of the JTMM-J detonated a ‘pressure cooker bomb’ at the residence of Krishna Man Shrestha, the Nepali Congress Banke district president and the party’s candidate for Constituent Assembly election from constituency no. 4, at Adarsha Nagar in Nepalgunj. The blast caused minor damage to the house, but there was no human casualty. Eight Nepali Congress leaders, including six incumbent lawmakers, quit the party and joined the MJF to "emotionally integrate the Terai to assimilate it with the whole national feeling." The six leaders - Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, Sarat Singh Bhandari, Ram Janam Chaudhary, Laxman Prasad Mehata, Hari Narayan Chaudhary, Mangal Singh Tharu - quit the party and also announced quitting the parliament. Others quitting the party are Nepali Congress Mahasamiti member, Arjun Thapa of Dhankuta, and former Member of Parliament Shukra Raj Samyok Limbu of Morang.
March 4	Cadres of the MMT shot dead Uday Yadav, a Nepali Congress member of Mahottari district, at Mangalpur Bazaar in the Dhanusha district. Senior Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai said that the Maoists will launch a new revolution if they lose the forthcoming Constituent Assembly election. Addressing an election rally in the Bhachhek village of Gorkha district, Bhattarai said, "If we lose, there will be a new type of revolution," without elaborating. He also said that no other political party can address the agenda raised by them. "To fulfill the agenda raised by Maoists, we must win the election. There is no question of losing it," Bhattarai said.
March 7	Cadres of the Akhil Terai Mukti Morcha (ATMM) - the group formerly known as JTMM-G - set ablaze a vehicle belonging to the Kantipur daily newspaper at Babhanagamakatti village of Saptari district. Two persons were injured in the incident.
March 9	Suspected Maoists abducted Mangal Gurung, the CPN-UML candidate in the Manang district.
March 10	Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala ruled out holding talks with the agitating Terai-based armed groups ahead of the key CA polls, saying the demands of the Madhesi community for greater representation and autonomy has been accepted.
March 11	Cadres of the YCL obstructed a group of workers of the Rashtriya Janashakti Party from campaigning in the Dhankuta district. YCL cadres seized NR 130000 cash from them and also confiscated citizenship certificate of the RJP president and former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa.
March 12	Armed cadres of the JTMM-J shot dead a civilian, identified as Hitlal Singh, at his residence in the Hardiya area of Bara district. Maoists attacked an election campaign meeting of the CPN-UML in Preeti VDC area in the Ramechhap district and injured 12 persons, including the CPN-UML candidate for Ramechhap district’s constituency number 1, Dev Shankar Poudel. Maoists abducted two workers of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Chitwan district. Maoists severely assaulted a Nepali Congress activist, Ganeshman Shrestha, of Ghyalchowk VDC area in the Gorkha district.
March 13	Maoists stormed the RPP office in Chitwan and ransacked all the furniture and documents before setting ablaze the building. A group of YCL cadres misbehaved with Nepali Congress leader Shiva Raj Joshi and several other party workers when they were in Ghatgaun VDC in the Surkhet district on a poll campaign. YCL cadres assaulted a CPN-UML cadre, Khadga Bahadur Pariyar, of Kaskikot-5 in the Kaski district. Maoists assaulted two cadres of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) - Raj Bahadur Budha and Dan Bahadur Budha - in Jumla and filed fake cases against them.
March 15	Four activists of the CPN-UML were injured when the YCL cadres attacked their meeting at Taparsu VDC in the Dhading district. Maoists assaulted two Nepali Congress activists in the Gorkha district. Maoists picketed the home of Chandra Prasad Neupane, the NC candidate from Constituency Number 2 in the district, at midnight and assaulted his son Achyut and another NC activist Amar Bhitav. An Armed Police Force team arrested two cadres of the JTMM-J in the Rautahat district.
March 16	In the Bardiya district, CPN-Maoist cadres led by Hem Narayan Kafle assaulted a CPN-UML activist, Jhapulal Jaisi, in his house after accusing him of doing poll publicity work. Maoists laid an ambush, hurled stones and fired shots at a Nepali Congress election procession led by party candidate Bal Krishna Dahal for the Constituent Assembly polls from Constituency Number 1 in the Okhaldhunga district. A NC cadre, Lila Dahal, was injured in the attack.
March 17	At least 10 persons were injured when activists of the Nepali Congress and the MJF clashed at Narasingh in the Sunsari district. Maoists attacked a group of CPN-UML supporters when they were returning from an election rally at Khurkhure of Birendranagar VDC in the Chitwan district. The Maoists assaulted three CPN-UML supporters while five insurgents also received minor injuries in the scuffle. A group of CPN-Maoist cadres tried to obstruct the Nepali Congress programme at Sankh VDC in the Rukum district.
March 18	Unidentified armed persons shot dead a CPN-Maoist cadre, Bhakta Bahadur, at Jaimakasala in the Rolpa district. Bhakta Bahadur, a resident of Uwa VDC-7, was dragged out of the hotel where he used to work and was killed. Another Maoist, Tek Bahadur Gharti, was shot dead by a group of three people at Gam VDC-5 in the Rolpa district. A candidate for the CA election from the NPF in Banke constituency 2, Kamal Prasad Adhikari, was shot dead by militants of the Jwala Singh faction of the JTMM-J cadres. Claiming responsibility for the killing, Bhagat Singh, the Banke district Chairman of JTMM-J, said, "JTMM-J was pressing him to withdraw his candidacy. Adhikari was killed as he did not listen to JTMM-J’s request."
March 22	An unidentified group shot dead a Maoist ‘area committee’ member Shiv Pujan Kurmi at Shivlava village in the Kapilvastu district, near the Nepal-India border. In protest, Maoist cadres staged a sit-in outside the main gate of the hospital and also vandalised vehicles belonging to Nepali Congress candidates and the party's poll publicity office in the district. A suspected member of an armed group was killed during police retaliation in the Dhanusa district when a few persons attacked a patrol of the area police office. A 12-bore gun was recovered from the incident site.
March 24	Cadres of the YCL attacked the former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN-UML leader K.P. Sharma Oli in Bhadrapur in the Jhapa district. YCL cadres hurled stones at Oli’s vehicle, smashing its windowpanes, district Superintendent of Police Rajendra Shrestha said, adding that police inspector Durga Thapa was also injured in the incident. CPN-Maoist cadres Bhumika and Ganga Prasain were hurt in the incident, central member of the YCL Agni said. Police arrested three People’s Liberation Army cadres at Ghargharye in the Rolpa district and seized an AK-47 and INSAS rifle from them. Maoist chairman Prachanda has said there would be a big revolt if efforts are made to disturb the CA election. Addressing an election rally in the Jawalakhel area of Lalitpur district, Prachanda said that monarchists, domestic and foreign reactionaries were plotting to foil the election.
March 25	An unidentified armed gang of five persons shot dead an ‘area commander’ of the JTMM-J, Sekh Nasir of Gamhariya Parsa Village Development Committee. Superintendent of Police Ram Krishna Lama claimed that Nasir might have been killed by his own friends. In the last three months, there have been around 170 incidents of election-related violence across the country, said Democracy and Election Alliance, an organisation working on election observation issues. According to its report, 20 persons were killed, 623 injured and 24 abducted. The report points that majority of these incidents were carried out by armed outfits operating in the Terai. That apart, Maoists, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and other parties were also involved in some of those incidents. Bhutanese refugees began arriving in the US, the first of what the UN described as one of the world's largest resettlement efforts. The first group, arriving throughout the week, includes 121 refugees. The US has offered to resettle 60,000 of the estimated 107,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin now living in seven UN camps in south-eastern Nepal -- their home for the past 17 years. Six other nations -- Australia, Canada, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand and Denmark -- have offered to resettle 10,000 each. So far, however, only about 25,000 of the refugees have registered for resettlement, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and not many more than 10,000 are expected to leave Nepal by the end of 2008.
March 26	A CPN-Maoist cadre was killed when police opened fire during a scuffle between the members of NC-affiliated Tarun Dal and the Maoists in the Solukhumbu district. A statement issued by the Information Bureau of the Maoists said that Ganga Bahadur Bhujel 'Gajendra', a member of the district secretariat, died on the spot in the police firing. Reports from other districts of mid-western region said that the Maoist combatants cantoned at various cantonment sites have started deserting their camps to involve in the election publicity of the party. The Maoists are said to have been mobilising at least 50 combatants in each district for this purpose. Prachanda has said that his party will not accept defeat in the forthcoming Constituent Assembly election if there is a conspiracy by regressive forces. Addressing an election rally in the Pathari area of Morang district he claimed that western Nepal was a base area of Maoists while there was huge wave in favour of his party in the eastern region, which he said would ensure victory for his party.
March 27	Around 200 CPN-Maoist cadres left the Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan district to take part in an election rally addressed by Maoist chairman Prachanda at Gaur in the Rautahat district. A total of 3,936 people were killed in the mid-western region during the decade long insurgency, a report stated. A book released by the INSEC Mid-Western Regional Office revealed that these people were killed by the State, Maoists and unidentified groups during the armed insurgency. Though statistics said that over 13,000 people were killed during the armed insurgency, the exact number and identity of the people is yet to be verified.
March 28	Government urged the four armed outfits of Terai to come forward for peace talks without proposing any pre-condition. In a letter sent to the rebel groups, the peace talks’ team of the ruling SPA said that their demands would be looked at during negotiations. The four armed outfits - Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, Terai Cobra, Madhesi Mukti Tigers and Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha - had earlier agreed to hold talks with the Government but later demanded that their detained cadres be released first. The Maoist chairman Prachanda said that a conspiracy is being hatched to defer the Constituent Assembly elections after a wave was seen in favour of his party. Talking to party cadres in Narayangarh, he said that regressive forces have become irritated after it is almost definite that his party will win 150 seats in the polls.
March 29	Two persons, identified as Firoz Khan and Parwez Iraqi Ansari, were killed and two others injured when unidentified assailants lobbed a bomb inside a mosque in the Sarauchiya area of Biratnagar. A group called National Defence Army claimed responsibility for the blast.
March 30	Two persons of a family were killed when a bomb, allegedly left behind by the Maoists, exploded inside the house of one Parasuram Shah in the Garkhakot VDC of Jajarkot district. Officials at the Jajarkot District Police Office said a rocket launcher, a sub-machinegun and some explosives were recovered from the house. They suspect that the Maoists were using the house to store arms and explosives. The YCL cadres threatened villagers in the Nawalparasi district with eviction if they did not vote for the CPN-Maoist candidates and the party. Locals of Arkhala, Bharatipur, Jaubari, Mithukaram, Ruchang, Dedgaon and other villages in the northern part of the district blamed the YCL of threatening them to vote for the Maoists or face torture and even forceful eviction from the villages.
March 31	Four persons, including a child, were injured when a bomb was exploded at Maisthan in the Birgunj district by the Madhesh Mukti Tigers. Maoists abducted 10 CPN-UML cadres, who were on an election campaign at Bhagwati VDC in the Jajarkot district.
April 1	10 Nepali Congress cadres, including the party’s candidate from Rasuwa, Bal Chandra Poudel, were injured when a group of around 200 YCL cadres attacked them in the Bhorle VDC. Around 100 YCL cadres attacked the Nepali Congress central member and candidate from constituency no 2 in Baitadi, Binay Dhoj Chand, at Srikot VDC-4. Several Nepali Congress leaders and cadres were injured in the attack. Maoists abducted six Nepali Congress cadres from Dadeldhura and took them to an undisclosed location. Maoists abducted district chairman of Amnesty International, Madhav Gautam, in Arghakhachi 1. He was abducted from Tagre area of Pokharathok while he was there on an election monitoring purpose and taken away to an unknown location.
April 2	Six policemen were injured in the attack when the YCL cadres pelted stones at them as they reached Kalikasthan in the Rasuwa district. CPN-Maoist cadres abducted two Nepali Congress members, Rabindra Shahi and Keshav Bista, from Jajarkot district.
April 3	Five persons were injured in a bomb blast at Birgunj Bus Park in the Parsa district. Three CPN-UML activists were injured in a clash with cadres of the YCL after the latter attacked their election programme at Bharatpur in the Chitwan district. Chitwan district joint secretary of the RPP, Dinesh Adhikari, and other local leaders Dillip Thapa and Upendra Shrestha sustained injuries when about 90 YCL cadres attacked them with batons. The YCL cadres also set ablaze all the election material kept at the RPP office in Madi.
April 4	A District Committee member of the CPN-UML, Dutta Bahadur Rokaya, was injured in an attack by a group of 65 Maoists in the Dolpa district.
April 5	YCL cadres attacked a Nepali Congress team led by the party’s candidate for Nawalparasi constituency-3 Om Kala Gautam. Two policemen and six NC cadres were injured in the attack at Kawasoti along the Mahendra highway. Five CPN-UML activists, a poll monitor and a Nepali Congress activist were injured in Maoist attacks in the Ramechhap district.
April 6	Unidentified assailants abducted and subsequently killed Deepak Dahal, a Rastriya Janashakti Party activist of Bhirgaun VDC-4.
April 7	At least 10 persons, including two children, were injured when a bomb exploded at Ghantaghar in the Parsa district when the Nepali Congress rally was converging into an assembly. Suspected cadres of the JTMM-J abducted Rajendra Pandey, an election official designated to oversee the Banauta polling centre in the Mahottari district.
April 8	Seven Maoists were killed in police firing in a clash that erupted between the Maoists and Nepali Congress workers at Lamahi bazaar area in the Dang district. A candidate of the CPN-UML from Surkhet-1 constituency, Rishi Prasad Sharma, was killed after being hit by a bullet during a clash with Nepali Congress workers. A group of 50-60 Maoists led by Sher Bahadur Bhandari abducted 22 Nepali Congress cadres, including 13 women, from Dhading-1 area. 12 Nepali Congress activists were injured in an attack by YCL cadres at Korthar VDC in the Nawalparasi district. Three CPN-UML activists were injured at Hasaura in the Nawalparasi district when YCL cadres attacked them.
April 9	Police arrested 31 YCL cadres along with weapons while they were going towards Butwal from Ranyaura of Rupandehi district in a vehicle. The police seized one pistol, three rounds of bullets, four knives, 30 sticks and an iron rod from them.
April 10	Voting for the Constituent Assembly elections concluded with approximately 60 percent of the electorate exercising their franchise. One activist of the CPN-UML, Rishiraj Subedi, was killed by some unidentified persons at Saumarang VDC in the Kaski district.
April 12	Seven persons were injured when Maoists clashed with the security force personnel at Gaur.
April14	A group of 25 Maoists attacked and injured Nepali Congress leader and the Finance Minister, Ram Sharan Mahat, at Dudhdevi VDC of Nuwakot district. Seven other persons, including two Nepali Congress supporters, a police inspector and four children were also injured in the incident.
April16	Senior CPN-Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai has said that the first meeting of the CA will respectfully bid farewell to the monarchy. "We want to respectfully remove monarchy," Bhattarai said. CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda urged King Gyanendra to vacate the Narayanhity palace on his own. He said, "The people have already given their mandate. He should vacate the palace. That will make the job easier for us. And that will be in the interest of the country, him and all of us." All the seven ministers from the CPN-UML quit the Government after its defeat in the CA elections.
April 17	Cadres of the YCL set ablaze a house of a Nepali Congress leader Padam Niraula at Sapteshwar VDC in the Khotang district. One YCL cadre, Wastemba Sherpa, assaulted a Nepali Congress activist Bhakta Bahadur Parajuli in the Eiselukharka VDC of Khotang district.
April 18	CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda said that he is in favour of providing King Gyanendra a ‘graceful exit’ from the throne that the Shah dynasty has occupied for the last 240 years. "Even after he leaves the throne he should be allowed to continue with his business affairs or other activities, including engagement in politics in future if he so desires," Prachanda said.
April19	CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda announced that he will lead the new republican Government in the country.
April 21	At least 22 Nepali Congress workers have been displaced from their villages in the Rukum district after the CA election due to threats issued by Maoists in the district. The US Ambassador in Nepal, Nancy J. Powell, said that the US is expected to remove the CPN-Maoist from its terrorist watch list with just a few ‘technicalities’ remaining for doing so.
April 22	The US State Department's Deputy spokesman Tom Casey has said that there has been no change yet in the status of Maoists as a terrorist outfit despite their winning the election. "We have an organization being placed on the list of designated foreign terrorists organizations. (It) has legal requirements that are placed on us. We have to honour those legal requirements and we'll certainly do so in the case of Nepal," he stated, and hinting of a possible review, said, "You have an organization that moves away from violence and terror and participates in a political process and engages in those kinds of legitimate activities, that would certainly, I think, give people an opportunity to at least look again at that situation and that organization." "But at this point, you know there's no change in their status and we'll follow the law as appropriate," he added further. The CPN-Maoist officially claimed that the party must head the new Government. A meeting of the Maoist Central Secretariat held at party Chairman Prachanda’s residence at Naya Bazaar in Kathmandu decided to lead the still to-be-formed Government claiming the polls outcome to be positive. The meeting also decided to implement a republican system of governance from the first meeting of the CA and added that there would be no compromises on the issue with other parties.
April 23	The counting of votes under the Proportional Representation (PR) system has been completed. The CPN-Maoist lead the tally with 3144202 votes out of the total 10739088 votes cast - 29.27 percent of vote share. The NC and the UML are in second and third positions, respectively, bagging 2269863 (21 percent) and 2183370 votes (20.33 percent). The Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party are in fourth and fifth positions, respectively, wining 678327 (6.31 percent) and 338930 votes (3.15 percent). The Rastriya Prajatantra Party is in sixth position with 263431 votes. The Election Commission has said that it would apply the Modified Saint Logue system to calculate exact number of seats won by these parties based on votes they have garnered. However, rough estimates suggest that the Maoists could secure around 100 seats. There are 335 seats under PR category and approximately around 30000 votes will account for one seat.
April 24	The CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda said that he could not rule out the use of violence in future. "Right now, I cannot renounce every kind of violence," Prachanda told journalists after meeting ambassadors and United Nations (UN) staff.
April 28	The CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda said that there is no alternative to leadership of the next Government since the people have already given the Maoists the mandate by making them the largest party. Speaking at its central committee meeting, Prachanda said that his party will lead the next Government but all decisions will be taken based on understanding.
April 29	The kin of a Member of Parliament from the CPN-Maoist, Binod Kumar Upadhyaya, was killed in a bomb blast carried out by unidentified persons in the Bodhbar Village Development Committee-3 area of the Rupandehi district. Binod's uncle Surendra Uyadhyaya was killed in the blast that occurred inside Binod's house. The regional coordinator of the Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha, Rakesh, and Anil of the Madhesi Tigers said their outfits had triggered the blast. They also claimed the explosion was triggered to punish the Member of Parliament for contesting the Constituent Assembly polls. Police seized a cache of weapons and ammunition from a taxi at Lekhnath in the Kaski district and arrested one person in this connection. Two bags containing an Italian revolver and a locally-made pistol, bullets, grenade and a khukuri were recovered.
April 30	The US, which still regards the CPN-Maoist as a terrorist organisation, has indicated it would seek "legitimate reconciliation and reintegration politically" in Nepal after the Maoists’ election victory. "In any terrorist organisation or any terrorist situation, if there is a way for reconciliation legally and lawfully through the political system, obviously, we prefer that," said Dell L. Dailey, Coordinator of the Office for Counter-terrorism, while briefing reporters on the State Department’s annual terrorism report. The Country Report on Terrorism 2007 acknowledged that Nepal experienced no significant acts of international terrorism in 2007, but said "several incidents of domestic terrorism and politically-motivated violence occurred in urban areas and in the Terai."
May 1	The US ambassador to Nepal, Nancy Powell, met with CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda at the latter's residence at Nayabazaar in Kathmandu. According to a Maoist source, Prachanda said the US should remove the Maoists from its terrorist list. "Powell said the act of removing the Maoists from the US terrorist list is delayed due to bureaucratic process," the source said.
May 2	The deadline to submit the final list of candidates to be elected under the PR system to the CA ended. All the 25 parties qualified to win at least one seat in the CA submitted lists. Under the PR system, the Maoists have 100 seats, the Nepali Congress 73 seats, the CPN-UML 70 seats, the Madhesi People’s Right Forum 22 seats, and the Terai Madhesh Democratic Party 11 seats. The rest will go to the fringe parties, from far-Right to the far-Left. The UML, however, decided not to send any of its standing committee members to the CA. The Election Commission will now ask the parties to make necessary corrections, if any, in their PR list and announce the final names of the 575 members. The Cabinet will nominate the remaining 26 members, taking the total to 601.
May 3	The dead body of an abducted VDC secretary of the Bispitti VDC, Allauddin Ansari, was found buried at the bank of Chharahara River in the Sitamarhi district of the Indian State of Bihar. According to Ramshila Devi of Halkhori-5, who was arrested in connection with Ansari's abduction, Ansari was murdered a week after his abduction by an unidentified armed group on January 10 from his rented home.
May 5	The CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda directed the YCL cadres to strictly avoid intimidation and attacks against the activists of rival political parties.