Kathmandu, 24 July: A group of locals of Rapti Municipality has accused Nepal Army (NA) personnel guarding the Chitwan National Park of beating a youth to death. Earlier on July 16, 24 year-old- Raj Kumar Chepang , a resident of Rapti Municipality-2, and six other locals were detained by the security personnel on the charge of entering the park illegally. They were released on the same day, but the soldiers had beaten them harshly, according to Santa Lal Praja, a close friend of Chepang, according to Kantipur daily. Chepang died seven days after the incident on Thursday, and the family members and their neighbours claim the cause of the death was the soldier’s beating. The deceased’s father, Bishnu Lal, has demanded a fair probe into the case and action against the culprit. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army, issuing a press statement has said it was investigating the incident. The statement reads, " Our attention has been drawn to the report published in the Kantipur daily today about the alleged incident in the Chitwan National Park. While Nepali Army is conducting its own internal investigation, we commit to extend our full cooperation to the Government agencies entrusted with the investigation process. Nepali Army remains committed to carry out the mandated tasks of Nature Conservation by the government of Nepal in a responsible manner." People's News Monitoring Service