KOL. 24 January 2002. Maoists kill five policemen.
KATHMANDU -- At least five policemen have lost their lives while fighting Maoists last night at around 11:30 p.m. in Gopetaar police post in Paanchthar district, our reports say. Though police claimed that a number of Maoists were also shot dead in the encounter, only two dead bodies have been recovered so far. Our correspondent, Prem Ojha, quotes Chief District Officer, Jivan Prasad Oli, as saying that the Maoists carried the dead body of their comrades and fled the scene after the attack. The encounter is said to have lasted for about six hours in Gopetaar, around 5 kilometers away from Phidim, the district headquarters. Meanwhile, a bomb planted by the terrorists exploded this morning at the residence of Druba Wagle, the chief of Byas Municipality in Damauli, our correspondent adds from Tanahun district. Wagle was away during the explosion, the report adds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
