SOLDIERS KILLED IN SSSSSSSSSURKHET BUS ACCIDENT ‘ Kathmandu, 28 Dec.: People killed in the bus accident that took place at Sadarpur-6 in Surkhet this morning have been identified. RSS reports from Surlhet. The deceased have been identified as Ram Bahadur Ranabhat of Chitwan district who was working at the Bhimdal Battalion, Dasharathpur, Gajendra Gurung of Gumi VDC-5, working at the Chandi Prasad Battalion and Man Bahadur Gaha of Dasharathpur-7, working at the Kalidal Battalion of Nepal Army. Similarly, other victims identified are Mamata Khadka, 10 and Deepa Dhakal,11, of Dasharathpur-4, Kumar Poudel of Dasharathpur-5, Keshar Shreesh (Magar) of Gumi VDC-4 and his son Prajjwal, 12. Likewise, others killed in the accident are Yaman Midun of Satakhani VDC, Chandrakala Rawat of Kalyan-8, Tarka BK of Dailekh district, Gandhi Sunar and her son, Arjun. Thirteen persons died and 19 others were injured after a bus met with an accident at Sadarpur-6 in Surkhet district this morning.The accident took place when the bus (Na 2 Kha 5741) heading towards Birendranagar from Bhedabari in Surkhet fell into Sadarpur based Gam rivulet at 9:00 am. Chief at the District Police Office, Superintendent of Police, Bishwo Niranjan Pradhan, said that the bus driver has been sent to Nepalgunj for treatment while the rest are undergoing treatment at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Kalagaun. The death toll might go up as condition of some of the injured is critical, said Pradhan. nnnn 18 INJURED IN SAPTARI Kathmandu, 28 Dec.: : At least 18 people, including five police personnel, were injured in a scuffle that took place in Lohajara VDC of Saptari district, today [Friday]. RSS reports from Saptari.. Two groups of people gathered at a local witchdoctor Sabujan Khatun´s house clashed after police arrested her and another man Samsul Miyan following complaints against them by villagers at the District Administration Office, Saptari. A dozen people had filed a complaint at the office. The clash took place when hundreds of people gathered at Khatun´s home started vandalizing the property on allegation that the two were involved in cheating the villagers. Five police personnel including a Police Sub-Inspector were injured in the clash.Police had to use batons and open two rounds of blank fire to bring the crowd under control Nnnn ________________________________________ UML CHAIRMAN AGAIN BLAMES MAOISTS Kathmandu, 28 Dec. Central chairman of the CPN (UML) Jhalanath Khanal has alleged the UCPN (Maoist) of throwing spanner in the efforts towards reaching political consensus in a bid to prolong its stay in power. RSS reports from Biratnagar.. The UML chairman said this while talking briefly to journalists upon his arrival here in connection with inaugurating the party´s district working committee convention. He said that the UCPN (Maoist) was involved in various trickery for imposing its dictatorship upon the Nepali people. Former Prime Minister Khanal alleged that the Maoist and the Madhesi Front were both in the game plan to prolong their stay in power and to prevent the election in mid-May 2013. He stressed that there was no alternative to the opposition parties except launching popular movement if political consensus was not possible. Meanwhile, a delegation of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Morang branch called on the UML chairman over the issue of people affiliated to the Youth Association, the youth wing of the CPN (UML), threatening journalists. FNJ Morang president Bikram Niraula led the delegation. Journalists here have complained that they received threats from people affiliated to the Association for publishing news about the cadres of the Youth Association Morang tearing the question papers on BBA preparation classes at the local Applied college and asked for money from the students. During the meeting with the delegation, UML chairman Khanal said that his party and its sister wings supported full press freedom and urged the journalists to write about the activities of his party and its sister wings without harbouring any fear. Nnnn