Nepal Protests: Indian Woman Dies Trying to Escape as Protesters Set Hotel on Fire

Kathmandu: A 57-year-old Indian woman from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, died after jumping from a hotel that was set on fire amid violent protests sweeping Nepal. The victim, Rajesh Gola, was on a multi-day religious trip with her husband when the Hyatt Regency hotel, where they were staying, was targeted and set ablaze by protesters.

In a desperate attempt to escape the inferno, she jumped from the building and sustained fatal injuries. Her husband, Ramvir Singh Gola, was also seriously injured and is currently receiving treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. The woman's post-mortem has not yet been conducted.

The couple was staying at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in Kathmandu. On the night of September 9, protestors suddenly surrounded the hotel and set it on fire. As the flames spread, panic broke out inside. Firefighters and officials tried to evacuate people, but the situation spiralled out of control. In the chaos, the couple jumped from the fourth floor to save themselves and were both seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the mob’s anger grew even more intense. Amid the chaos, Ramveer and Rajesh got separated. When Ramveer reached a relief camp, he received the devastating news that his wife Rajesh had died.

Rajesh’s son, Vishal Gola, tearfully said his parents had gone to Nepal to visit the temple and never imagined such a tragedy.

“This trip became my mother’s last journey. The crowd didn’t even spare such a big hotel. If my parents had stayed together, maybe my mother would still be alive. She was badly injured when she jumped from the fourth floor, but the biggest blow was being left alone. The army didn’t take them together — they took my mother first, then my father, and in that shock, she passed away," he said.

The family claims they received little help from the Indian Embassy in Nepal. “When the embassy itself wasn’t safe, they refused to help us," they said. Somehow, the family is bringing Rajesh’s body back to Ghaziabad tonight.

Nepal protest death toll rises to 51

At least 51 people were killed during violent anti-corruption protests in Nepal this week, police said on Friday in an updated toll, as the full scale of chaos that toppled the government emerges.

Talks continue among the President, protest representatives, key potential figures who may lead an interim administration, and the army, which has imposed a curfew and taken charge of the streets.

Police spokesman Binod Ghimire told AFP that “51 people have died so far this week in the protests, including at least 21 protestors and three policemen.”

“About 13,500 prisoners had escaped, some have been recaptured, 12,533 are still at large,” Mr. Ghimire said.

The dead included prisoners killed during or after their escape in clashes with Nepali security forces.

Some of the fugitives have tried to cross the vast and porous frontier into India, where scores have been apprehended by Indian border forces.

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