Nepal frees 60 detainees

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s royalist government released on Friday 60 political detainees, including former Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikary, who had been in custody since King Gyanendra grabbed power two months ago.

“The release is in line with the government’s policy to free those who were detained since the king’s move,” a government official told Reuters. Adhikary was part of a multi-party government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba that was sacked on Feb 1. Gyanendra said the government had failed to control a nine-year-old Maoist revolt in which more than 11,000 people have died. Meanwhile, a UN official on Friday urged the government and aid agencies to support people displaced by the revolt. reuters

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