Nepal: Small Blast Hits Kathmandu Shopping Area

Source: Times of India

2009-01-01 18:32

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  Nepalese police officers investigate the site of a bomb blast in Kathmandu. Photo courtesy: AFP.

1 Jan 2009, 1722 hrs IST, IANS

KATHMANDU: A 16-year-old Indian teenager was hurt as a bomb went off in a busy area of the capital Thursday, the third blast to disrupt life in
the city since last week.

Bimal Gupta, who came from Barganiya village in India's Bihar district to eke out his livelihood in the Nepali capital, was the only person injured by the bomb that went off near the post office at the Sundhara area of the capital, a busy commercial place teeming with shops, vehicles and people.

Gupta, a garments pedlar, was selling his ware on the pavement before the post office when the bomb, kept in a white plastic bag nearby, went off around 1 p.m., injuring him in the leg.

The Indian teenager was rushed to the nearby Bir Hospital where he was declared out of danger. The police said three people were detained for questioning.

Leaflets found scattered in the area proclaimed the blast to be the handiwork of an underground group, the Ranvir Sena.

Though the Sena is a powerful army of landlords in Bihar, in Nepal little was heard of the outfit till last year when it claimed to be behind some minor explosions in the Terai plains in southern Nepal adjoining Bihar.

The Sundhara explosion is the third such incident since Saturday.

On Saturday, a bomb went off near the cargo office of a domestic airline on the way to the international airport, injuring a woman.

Another blast occurred Sunday in front of a high school located in another busy commercial area of the capital. However, no one was hurt in the early morning explosion.

The Sena had reportedly claimed to be behind the Durbar High School incident.

The new urban guerrilla attacks have started at a time the Maoist-led government has opened negotiations with the armed groups active in the Terai.

The Maoists' success with the gun during their 10-year People's War has spawned dozens of copy cat underground outfits since the rebels laid down arms in 2006, resulting in new violence in Nepal.