(): Two Nepalese youths were killed when a group of protesting job aspirants, who were barred from sitting at an exam for employment in the manufacturing sector in South Korea, clashed with police in Lalitpur city on Friday, police said.

The protesters had recently failed the test for shipbuilding jobs in South Korea held under Nepal’s Employment Permit System examination and were not allowed to participate in other categories of the EPS examination. Demanding that they be allowed to sit for the test for jobs in the manufacturing sector in South Korea, hundreds of disgruntled youths staged a protest at Gwarko area in Lalitpur, just 8 km north of Kathmandu, Nepal Police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said.

The agitators also clashed with police during which two youths were killed, he said. The situation escalated when the protesters set fire to a government vehicle belonging to Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala. Jwala, who was passing by the area, was intercepted by the agitators. The minister came out of the vehicle before the agitators set it ablaze, police said. Police used tear gas, firing in the air, and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. Half a dozen policemen and a demonstrator sustained minor injuries when the agitators threw stones on the security personnel.

Spokesperson Kadayat said it is uncertain whether the two deceased youths succumbed to bullet injuries.

Meanwhile, the Patan High Court issued an interim order, directing the government to permit all applicants to sit in all categories of the EPS exams. The court order directed the government bodies concerned not to bar anyone wanting to participate in the EPS examination to fill the application forms.