Nepal frees 61 political detainees

Former Nepalese deputy prime minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, placed under house arrest after King Gyanendra sacked his government and assumed absolute power, was among 61 political detainees released by the authorities in the kingdom on Friday.

The announcement of their release came a day after human rights group Amnesty International claimed that over 3,000 people had been detained in Nepal since the February 1 royal takeover.

Security guards were withdrawn from the residence of Adhikari, who was the deputy prime minister in the sacked Sher
Bahadur

Deuba government, on Thursday night. He was kept under house arrest for 81 days.

Adhikari told reporters that the government's act of detaining a politician without any reason for such a long time was a "gross violation" of constitution.

"It was a conspiracy hatched by the government to root out the achievements of the 1990 popular movement, that restored democratic rights," Adhikari said.