Tension flared at Thapathali area in the capital after the landless squatters clashed with the Metropolitan Police on the bank of the Bagmati River on Monday afternoon.
The tension ran high after the landless squatters brandishing knifes and sticks took to the streets and attacked the police personnel while the latter were trying to remove the illegal settlements on the river bank.
According to police, the residents of the settlement pelted stones and bricks at the team of city police warning of untoward actions if the settlements were demolished without making an alternative arrangement for their shelter.
They retaliated with homemade weapons such as khukuris, sickles and sticks after the city police tried to remove the illegal settlements.
Metropolitan Police SP Raju Pandey sustained serious head injuries in the brawl.
The High-Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization in collaboration with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City on November 4 issued a notice asking the landless squatters to vacate the settlement by November 20.
