Nepal's former guerrilla commander Prachanda had an 'encounter' of a different kind during the Maoist stir here when he shook a leg with a young and glamorous actress to the tunes of a popular love song.

When Maoist cadres converged in front of the Singhdurbar Secretariat in the Nepalese capital on Thursday, the initial mood was festive, with folk music bands and dancing groups accompanying the protestors.

Rekha Thapa, in her early twenties and among the top 10 stars in Nepal's film industry, also joined in and requested Maoist supremo Prachanda, "the fierce", to dance with her.

"I have always danced with film heroes. But now, I want to dance with the real hero of the country. If Prachanda agrees to dance with me, I am ready to sing," the actress, clad in jeans and a cream-coloured jacket, said asking the 54-year-old to shake a leg with her.

Prachanda, wearing a formal black suit, climbed atop a truck-cum-makeshift stage and swayed to the beats of a popular love song the actress started to sing. The Maoist chief also joined in the singing, amid cheers by thousands of supporters.

Major Nepalese dailies on Friday published pictures of Prachanda dancing with Rekha in the front pages.

As the day progressed, however, violence broke out at the protest site with police firing tear gas cells and baton-charging the protestors that injured over 50 Maoists including former deputy prime minister Amik Serchan.

Last year, over two dozen film artists had joined the Unified CPN-Maoist and Rekha is one of them.

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