Durga Prasai Says: 'I Haven't Fled, I'm Safely Staying in a Temple in Kathmandu
Durga Prasai Says: ‘I Haven’t Fled, I Am Safely Staying in a Temple in Kathmandu’
Medical businessman Durga Prasai, who led the royalist protest in Tinkune, Kathmandu, on Chaitra 15, is currently on the run. The police are searching for him to arrest him.
However, in a video message, Prasai said that he has not fled but is hiding in a temple in Kathmandu for safety. He stated, "I want to tell the security forces that I am not far from you. I have not run away. The police do not need to search for me. Since there is an order to shoot me on sight, I am just staying safe. I was not born to run away." Prasai claimed that there was a big plan to kill him during the protest, even though it was meant to be peaceful. He said, "We were raising the voices of people suffering from microfinance issues, cooperative fraud, bank problems, and those wanting to go abroad. After we gained momentum, some people in disguise, including members of the Youth Association and police officers in civilian clothes, created violence by entering other people’s houses."
He also claimed that before they even reached the protest site, the police started firing tear gas and bullets at the stage from the road. He said that when the police fired tear gas at his vehicle, he realized they either wanted to arrest him like Peru’s Gonzalo or kill him, so he broke through the police barricade to escape safely.
Prasai insisted that he has great respect for the police and never intended to harm them. "Maybe you think Durga Prasai was against the police, but I was targeted. There were snipers placed on rooftops. When I reached Tinkune, bullets passed close to my ears. Who wouldn’t react to that? I did not mean to hurt the police; I just broke the barricade to save myself."
He also denied ever calling for houses to be burned. He said, "I only said to capture the parliament building, not destroy anything. I never asked for vandalism. I feel sorry for what happened that day."