The government has started releasing senior party leaders it had kept under house arrest since last Thursday. Three of the five senior opposition leaders under house arrest were freed Sunday evening. Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party Chairman Narayan Man Bijukchhe and UML leader KP Oli were among those freed. UML general secretary Madhab Kumar Nepal and his party colleague Bharat Mohan Adhikary were still under house arrest till late evening. Some of the other leaders and parties' workers who were detained at different places including police stations have also been released. One of them was UML leader Pradeep Nepal who issued a statement saying that he was released because of the pressure from different quarters that cited his deteriorating health condition. The leaders and cadres were put under house arrest or detained one day before their planned showdown last Friday. To foil the demonstration, the government had also imposed daytime curfew that day. While the exact number of those released could not be known, the government confirmed that around thirty protestors were arrested during demonstrations at different places of Kathmandu on Sunday. The parties and their student organizations have claimed that the number of arrests is much higher. Home Ministry said that the demonstrations took place in prohibited areas and that the protestors torched a government vehicle. Student organizations claimed that security personnel used force unnecessarily and even entered campus premises. There were injuries in both the sides as they clashed at several places. Meantime, the nighttime curfew within Ring Road was imposed beginning 11 pm on Sunday till 4 am next morning. The government has been decreasing the nighttime curfew hours since the last few days.