Friday, April 22 2005 16:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: Former Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, placed under house arrest, since King Gyanendra sacked his Government and assumed absolute power, was among 61 political detainees released by authorities in the kingdom, police said today (Apr 22, 2005).

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Security guards were withdrawn from the residence of Adhikari, who was the Deputy Prime Minister in the sacked Sher Bahadur Deuba Government, yesterday (Apr 21, 2005) night after he was kept under house arrest for 81 days, police said.

After he was set free, Adhikari, also the Standing Committee member of Nepal Communist Party-UML, said that the Royal 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," said Adhikari, whose party was one of the four coalition partners of the sacked Government.

Adhikari was prohibited from using telephone and meeting his supporters during the house arrest. Deuba, who was also held under house arrest after the sacking of his Government by the King, was released last month (March).

Similarly, the Government released 60 other political prisoners, including Nepali Congress leader Trailokya Pratap Sen, from various districts, police said.

Their release came at a time when the King was in Jakarta to attend the Asian-African summit.