Kathmandu: Life came to a standstill in the Nepal capital as the three-day general strike called by Maoists to protest the dismissal of the Deuba government by King Gyanendra began on November 11 amid tight security.

Security was intensified in Kathmandu, with armed soldiers and policemen patrolling the streets, and increased vigilance around key buildings.

Police arrested 88 suspected Maoist activists on the eve of the general strike, which came after a spate of violence in the country that left at least five dead.

No incident of violence was reported from the city that wore a deserted look as schools, colleges and business establishments remained closed, and tourist buses were the only vehicles to ply the roads.

Hotel occupancy was reduced to minimum. The oldest Five Star Hotel Soaltee Crown Plaza had a paltry 30 per cent occupancy, said its sales manager.

The shutdown was intended to coincide with the November 13 general elections, which were however postponed indefinitely when King Gyanendra dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government.

However, the Maoists are carrying on with the three-day strike.

The Maoists intensified their attacks on the eve of the strike, killing three people including a police officer in Sarlahi district, official sources said.

A Nepali Congress worker was shot dead by the Maoists in Ramnagar area of Sarlahi district during Chhath festivities. The rebels also killed a police officer at Ramvan village in Sarlahi district on November 10 night, reported Radio Nepal.

Another civilian was killed by the Maoists in Basantpur village of the district, the 'Kathmandu Post' said.

The Maoists killed two more civilians elsewhere on the eve of the shutdown. They killed a postman for supplying information to the police in Hetauda municipality of Makawanpur district. Another civilian was killed in Taplejung district, official sources said.

The rebels destroyed a Nepal Television relay station in Mahottari district, disrupting TV broadcast in Janakpur and Sagarmatha zones of Central Nepal.

They also raided the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), a conservation centre at Ghandruk near Pokhara, looting computers and television sets.

The Maoists set on fire a passenger bus on its way from Kathmandu to Biratnagar. A group of armed terrorists stopped the bus at Ranigunj in Sarlahi district on Mahendra Highway and forced all the passengers out of the bus before setting it on fire. No one was injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, security forces killed a Maoist area commander, said to be an expert in setting off electric mines, in a jungle near Masurya village in an encounter.

In another incident, three Army personnel were injured in a landmine attack carried out by Maoists in Nuwakot district on November 10.

PTI