Police on Thursday arrested four Maoist cadres while staging demonstrations in the riot-hit areas of Gaur, the district headquarters of Rautahat, according to police Inspector Ram Prakash Chaudhary. The arrested are Upendra Sah, Jay Prakash Kausal, Sunil Sah and Rajesh Sah of Madhesi Rashtriya Mukti Morcha (MRMM), a sister wing of the UCPN (Maoist). The arrests have raised eyebrows as their party has been lobbying for the promulgation of the new constitution without halting the constitution-making process. The UCPN (Maoist) cadres were found to be involved in intensifying the protests even as the party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday issued a restraining order to his party's lawmakers and other rank and file, asking them not to get involved in any activities that may derail the constitution drafting process. During the demonstrations, Morcha cadres clashed with security personnel in Gaur. The police had lobbed hundreds of teargas shells to bring the situation under control. The MRMM has openly joined the agitating Madhesi parties, which have continued their protest against the draft constitution and proposed provincial structure. MRMM Cadres led by Ram Chandra Jha, a UCPN (Maoist) leader, staged demonstrations in Janakpur on Thursday. "Thousands of locals from each constituency will demonstrate on Saturday as well," said Jha. In Mahottari, a dozen protesters and a police constable were injured in a clash that ensued during the protests in Jaleshwar, which has taken an ugly turn in the last one week.

updated... Agitators torch 2 govt offices, the vehicle in Saptari --------------------------------------------------- Cadres of agitating parties set ablaze two government offices--District Education Office and District Soil Conservation Office --in Rajbiraj, the district headquarters of Saptari, on Thursday. They have also torched a jeep with being number plate Ba 1 Jha 4761parked on the premises of the DEO. Agitators claimed that they torched those government offices for defying their strike.