'Dozens of politicians arrested' in Nepal purge

Dozens of politicians have been arrested in Nepal since King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency and many more have gone underground, an opposition figure said today.

“We don’t even know how many of our people have been arrested,” said Shovakar Parajuly, an official with the Nepali Congress party, Nepal’s leading opposition political party. He estimated that at least 50 of the group’s top leaders had been put under arrest.

The arrests, which began yesterday around the time the state of emergency was declared, were continuing today, said Parajuli, who had himself gone underground to avoid arrest.

His announcement came shortly after the king announced a 10-member cabinet, one day after he dismissed the government, declared a state of emergency and sharply curtailed civil rights.