NEPALESE police were last night struggling to enforce a curfew imposed to keep persistent thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators off the streets as the Himalayan country’s political crisis deepened.

NEPALESE police opened fire yesterday on tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied a curfew and marched toward the capital, killing at least three and wounding dozens more.

Nepalese police fired rubber bullets at hundreds of pro-democracy protesters on the outskirts of the capital today, wounding at least six demonstrators.

Nepalese police raided a hide-out and arrested a democracy activist on their most-wanted list and two other student leaders who had eluded capture since the king’s crackdown on dissidents in February, officials said today.