KATHMANDU, March 15 - CPN-Maoist cadres have been intimidating and mounting attacks on election campaigners of other political parties across the country. They have torched a Rastriya Prajatantra Party office, kidnapped a Nepali Congress candidate, beat up UML cadres and threatened Nepal Workers Peasants Party activists.

The Maoists stormed the RPP office in Chitwan Thursday evening and ransacked all the furniture and documents before they finally torched the entire office building, according to RPP Chairman Pashupai Shumsher Rana.

“Furniture and stationery worth Rs 600,000 and an office building worth Rs 4.5 million have been completely destroyed,”  Rana stated in a press release.

“Such incidents just

ahead of the polls have

raised doubts whether the election will be free and fair,” Rana said.

Quoting district party chairman Ram Hari Kandel, a report from Chitwan said property worth Rs 500,000 was destroyed in the blaze. A group of unidentified people sprayed petrol and torched the office, according to our Chitwan reporter.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has told the local administration to immediately arrest the people involved in “anarchic and unruly” activities. The ministry, in a press release, expressed its unhappiness over the incident.

Chitwan Chief District Officer Ratna Raj Pandey informed that the district administration has deployed mobile police patrols for round-the-clock security at all political parties.

Similarly, Young Communist League cadres beat up UML cadre Khadga Bahadur Pariyar of Kaskikot-5 in Kaski Thursday.

He was beaten up for interrogating his daughter, Goma, who had joined the Maoist party.

“I was just asking my daughter why she joined the Maoists without informing me, when 10 to 12 Maoist cadres suddenly started kicking and slapping me,” Pariyar said.

Similarly, Maoists beat up two NWPP cadres - Raj Bahadur Budha and Dan Bahadur Budha - in Jumla and filed fake cases against them, the NWPP said in a press statement in Bhaktapur. “NWPP strongly condemns such attacks on party cadres engaged in poll campaigning,” said Party Secretary Sunil Prajapati in the statement.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress election campaigners in the hill areas of Kailali district have complained that the Maoists have been disrupting their campaign, using defamatory words against them, barring them from meeting people and threatening the latter not to attend the rallies of other political parties. According to our Dhangadhi reporter, NC cadres became worried about their safety following rumors about the abduction of NC candidate in Surkhet-3, Shiva Raj Joshi, by Maoist cadres Thursday evening.