Police arrested 51 prominent civil society activists in front of the Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, where they were staging a dharna (sit-in) warning the government against allocating budget to King Gyanendra and his family in the coming fiscal year.

Police apprehended them as soon as they started the dharna at 4:15 pm in front of the southern entrance of Singha Durbar.

Those arrested included Dr Devendra Raj Pandey, who chairs the Citizens Movement for Democracy and Peace (CMDP), Khagendra Sangraula and Dr Sundar Mani Dixit.

The protesting civil society activists also demanded that the government call back the army personnel deployed for the security of the royal palace and present the Rayamajhi Commission report in the legislature parliament and initiate action against the suppressors of the Janaandolan-2.

All 51 civil society activists, who were kept in police stations at Singha Durbar and Teenkune, were released after an hour.