A school headmaster in Mugu has been arrested after he assaulted the district education officer (DEO). Police said Bikram Bahadur Shahi, the headmaster of Nepal Rastriya Secondary School in Murma, and a group of men attacked DEO Jawaharlal Hamal and vandalised his office on Friday night. Hamal was attacked after he switched the bank account of Nepal Rastriya Secondary School after complaints of irregularities. After police took Shahi into custody, local Nepali Congress leaders have come forward pressing for his release, Hamal said.

Bishnu Maya Shahi, the chairperson of Nepal Teachers’ Association, said political cadres and well-connected people in the district have assaulted government officials and interfered in their works in the past as well. She added this is the third time Hamal was assaulted in the past 15 days. On February 16, supporters of the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist had attacked him for cancelling the teachers’ quota programme for Yuba Barsha Primary School in Sorukot. Eight months ago, CPN-UML cadres had also manhandled him over the issue of teacher appointment. Even the local development officer has been beaten up in the district, Bishnu Maya said. The government officials in Mugu are having difficulty doing their job because of political meddling and frequent attacks on them, she added.