LAU HERAU RETALIATION TA BHAYECHHA NI TA Judicial panel formed to probe Kapilvastu violence, three more killed in fresh clashes Kantipur Report KATHMANDU, Sept 20 - The government Thursday formed a high-level judicial committee to probe the unprecedented violence in Kapilvastu district and the surrounding areas and announced immediate relief to the victims. An emergency meeting of the cabinet held at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar this evening constituted a three-member judicial probe panel led by Appellate Court Rajbiraj justice Lokendra Mallik. Joint-attorney General Puspha Raj Koirala and AIG Niraj Pun are the members of the committee. After the meeting, Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that the cabinet condemned the violence, expressed its condolence to the victims and urged the residents of affected region to exercise restrain. The cabinet has also decided to release Rs 10,000 to the families of the persons killed in the violence as an immediate relief and bear the medical expenses of the injured. Similarly, the government will provide Rs 10,000 to those whose homes have been completed destroyed in the violence and Rs 5,000 to those whose houses were partially damaged. Meanwhile, at least three persons were killed in fresh violence in Kapilvastu Thursday afternoon. Shiva Gupta and Bishnu Gupta of Bahadurgunj were killed when two groups clashed at Patthardaiya in Kapilvastu. One is yet to be identified. Six policemen were also injured in the clashes. Thirteen injured have been brought to Krishnanagar for treatment. Eight more bodies were recovered in the district this morning. With the latest deaths, the total toll has mounted to at least 26. Indefinite curfew in many parts of the district remains in place since last Sunday. Indefinite curfew has been clamped in Lamahi bazaar in Dang district. General Secretary of the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) Kundan Aryal, who was part of a team of human rights activists that toured the violence-torn district this morning, said that the local residents were furious about absence of the state in the affected areas despite five days of violence. Aryal added that the district administration still does not have a fair idea of the extent of loss of life and property in the district. Organizing a press conference in Butwal after touring the region, the right defenders have asked the government to take three steps to redress the problem: Bolster the security situation to avert further violence, collect information pertaining to the losses and the victims, and provide immediate relief packages to the victims. This morning, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala held a meeting with representatives of the Muslim community at Baluwatar and had urged to help maintain communal harmony. He also gave his assurance and reiterated his pledge that he would leave no stone unturned to maintain law and security in the country and the region. Following the killing of chairman of an anti-Maoist group Mohid Khan by an unidentified group last Sunday in Kapilvastu, riots escalated in the district.