Nepal, July 29 -- Sunday's incident in Dewangunj, Sunsari, has once again exposed the high-handedness of Nepali security forces in crowd management. A young man was killed in police firing, and nine others have sustained bullet injuries. Most of them, including the deceased, Om Prakash Mehta, were shot above the waist. As per the accounts of eyewitnesses, the security personnel opened fire indiscriminately.

This is not the first instance of the police's excessive use of force in crowd control. Sunsari's incident is the third in less than a year and a half. Security forces used indiscriminate force against pro-monarchy protesters in March last year in Kathmandu's Tinkune. It was the disproportionate use of lethal force during the first da...