Kathmandu: Three former ministers of Nepal's erstwhile royal Cabinet have been arrested for inciting riots in the Terai region of the Himalayan Nation.

While former Forests Minister Salim Miya Ansari was arrested from his house in the capital this morning, two other ex-ministers Kamal Thapa and Badri Mandal were taken into custody last night hours after Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Sitaula said stern action would be taken against those fanning the violence in Terai, the southern plains of Nepal.

Former District Development Committee chairman of Morang Ballav Dahal was also arrested today in the same connection, police said.

A senior Home Ministry official confirmed the arrests and said the three ministers were being questioned by police.

Minister for Physical Planning and Construction Gopalman Shrestha has said that the government will round up at least two dozen ministers of the ex-royal regime and King Gyanandra's advisors.

Violent protests erupted on Janunary 19 in a town in Terai and have since spread to the entire region, claiming eight lives till now.

Nepal's Minister for Industries, Commerce and Supplies Hridayesh Tripathi resigned yesterday accusing the government of not doing enough to defuse tension at the southern plains.