Cadres of CPN (Maoist Centre) staged a demonstration at Manebhanjyang in Okhaldhunga on Wednesday demanding the release of its leader and former lawmaker Bal Krishna Dhungel. Police on Tuesday arrested Dhungel from Lalitpur, eight years after he was convicted of murder by the Supreme Court (SC). The leaders and cadres of CPN (Maoist Centre) also obstructed the Harkapur-Okhaldhunga road section for half-an-hour as part of the protest programme. They also issued a statement today itself demanding immediate release of Dhungel. The demonstrators who took to the street carrying black banners staged a corner assembly at the Manebhanjyang road. Maoist Centre politburo member Baburam Gautam and CPN-UML leader Lok Krishna Bhattarai, among other leaders, addressed the assembly. Saying that the government is trying to dig up the issues of decade-long Maoist insurgency, Gautam demanded prompt release of Dhungel. Leaders said that the country could invite another conflict if Dhungel is not released immediately. Likewise, Bhattarai said that it was unfortunate that the government detained Dhungel against the comprehensive peace accord. Dhungel was first convicted by Okhaldhunga District Court on May 10, 2004 for murdering Ujjan Kumar Shrestha of Okhaldhunga on June 24, 1998. Rajbiraj Appellate Court, however, on June 25, 2006 gave him a clean chit, and he was released after serving a brief jail term. But the SC on January 3, 2010 overturned the Rajbiraj Appellate Court order, upholding an earlier verdict of Okhaldhunga District Court and ordered the authorities to arrest him. Dhungel, who won the first Constituent Assembly elections from Okhaldhunga-2, continued to enjoy political patronage of the Maoist party and its leaders, due to which he was never arrested despite being spotted in public places. The apex court on April 13 also had ordered Nepal Police to arrest Dhungel and send him to jail “within a week”. However, the court, which followed Dhungel’s statement in March warning of “physical attack” on the judge who had handed down a life sentence to him, went unheard. बालकृष्ण ढुंगेलको रिहाई माग गर्दै माओवादी केन्द्रले यहाँको मानेभन्ज्याङमा विरोध प्रदर्शन गरेको छ । माओवादी केन्द्रका नेता तथा कार्यकर्ताले प्रदर्शन गर्दै विरोधस्वरुप हर्कपुर–ओखलढुंगा सडक आधा घण्टाका लागि बन्द गरे । उनीहरुले बुधबार नै एक विज्ञप्ती जारी गर्दै ढुंगेलको रिहाईको माग गरेका छन् । कालो ब्यानरसहित नारा जुलुसमा उत्रिएका प्रदर्शनकारीले मानेभञ्याङस्थित सडकमै कोणसभा गरे । माओवादी केन्द्रका पोलिटब्युरो सदस्य बाबुराम गौतम र एमालेका पुराना नेता लोककृष्ण भट्टराईलगायतले कोणसभालाई सम्बोधन गरे । बाबुराम गौतमले दस वर्षे जनयुद्धका मुद्दालाई ब्युँताउने गरी बालकृष्ण ढुंगेललाई पक्राउ गरिएको र तत्काल स–सम्मान रिहाई गर्नुपर्ने बताए । नेताहरुले ढुंगेलको रिहाई नगरे देश पुन: द्वन्द्वमा जानसक्ने चेतावनी दिए । लोककृष्ण भट्टराईले सरकाले बृहत् शान्ति सझौताविपरीत बालकृष्ण ढुंगेललाई गिरफ्तार गर्नु दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण रहेको बताए । पार्टीका सम्पूर्ण भातृ संस्थाहरुले समेत विज्ञप्ति जारी गर्दै रिहाईको माग गरेका छन् ।