Nepal violence continues day after adoption of new Constitution

A Madhesi man holds a banner during a protest against Nepal’s new Constitution, in Birgunj on Sunday.

Police in Nepal said they shot and injured at least three protesters on Monday, a day after the Himalayan nation >adopted its first democratic Constitution.

The demonstrators were in critical condition after police opened fire at an anti-Constitution protest in the city of Biratnagar, said Pramod Kharel, a deputy police superintendent in the Morang district of southern Nepal.

"The confrontation between police and anti-Constitution protesters is ongoing," he added.

President Ram Baran Yadav on Sunday promulgated Nepal's new Constitution, despite fierce opposition by minority groups in the southern plains whose homeland will be split up under the charter.

More than 40 people, mostly protesters, have been killed in recent weeks in clashes over the plan.