ETHNIC Tharu protesters demanding statehood in western Nepal attacked police with spears and knives yesterday, leaving at least six officers and three protesters dead and many others injured.

Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam told parliament that the protesters surrounded police who were enforcing a curfew in Tikapur, about 250 miles west of Kathmandu.

They attacked the officers with stones, knives and spears, and one was set on fire and died, he said.

The injured were taken to regional hospitals and the death toll was expected to rise as high as 20.

Protesters from the Tharu ethnic group demanding a separate state under the new constitution, being finalised by the Constituent Assembly, had organised general strikes and street protests in recent days before the riot.

Police from neighbouring districts were rushed to the town as reinforcements, while the government pledged to send soldiers to bring the situation under control.