Criticism over arrests of long-haired youths

KATHMANDU (dpa) – A Nepalese police campaign to curb crime came under criticism Saturday after the arrests of youths with long hair and studs in their ears.

Angry youths protested in Kathmandu against “police brutality”.

“Calling it a campaign to curb theft, robbery and hooliganism, Metropolitan Police on Monday rounded up 711 young people, mostly males, sporting long hair and wearing ear studs or earrings from different parts of the city,” a posting on Facebook said.

Police said youths aged 16 to 25 years are mainly involved in criminal activities in Nepal.

“We arrested 1,200 students in three days time, but only took action against 15 who were involved in criminal activities,” Kathmandu police chief Rana Bahadur Chand said. “We released the others who were found to be innocent.”

Some newspaper editorials criticised the campaign as a misdirected use of police resources.