CHITWAN, May 14: A CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate for the Rapti Municipality ward no 9 chair has been abducted by an unidentified group.

The Centre has accused Biplov led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) cadres of being behind the abduction of its candidate, Prem Bahadur Rimal, last night.

Maoist Centre’s District In charge, Ishwori Bhattarai, has said that the abduction by CPN led by Biplov has been proven. Bhattarai quoted the abducted candidate’s family members as saying that the 70 – year – old Rimal was abducted after he did not comply with the Biplov – led party’s repeated call for scrapping his candidacy.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Deepak Thapa, has said an investigation has been launched into the incident to determine whether the accused party is behind the abduction.

Meanwhile, police have arrested 31 persons including Khila Prasad Neupane, ward chair candidate from CPN (UML), for campaigning against Maoist Centre last night. They were arrested from different locations while distributing pamphlets reading ‘people’s 24 questions to Maoist Centre’, according to SP Thapa. They will be released today for the election following an investigation. RSS