Communist Party of Nepal Claims Responsibility for the Blasts
At least four people were killed and nine were injured in three explosions in different parts of Nepal’s capital.
The Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal has claimed responsibility for the series of explosions which struck Kathmandu in Nepal on Sunday, 26 May, reported ANI.
The Nepal Police had earlier suspected the outlawed communist group behind the attack as pamphlets belonging to the group were discovered from the site of the blasts.
A group that once split from the ruling Communist party have been protesting the arrests of their supporters by the authorities. A handful of people from the party had been arrested.
The first two explosions occurred within minutes apart in two Kathmandu neighbourhoods, while the third one was a few hours later, reported Associated Press.
The first explosion occurred in northern Kathmandu, killing two people and injuring five, police said. The second blast was in a house in the central part of the city, killing one and injuring one.
The areas around the two blast sites were quickly closed by police and the injured were taken to hospitals.
Police said a third explosion injured two people who they believe were members of the group transporting the explosive device.
Maoist Activists Arrested Amid Nationwide Strike
Several Maoist activists were arrested in Nepal as a general strike called by an outlawed communist group on Monday, 27 May, disrupted normal life in the country, reported PTI.
Educational institutions and business establishments remained shut in major cities, while traffic was thin due to the strike called by the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal to protest against the killing of its cadre during an encounter a couple of months ago.
The bombings were the deadliest since the government imposed a ban on the activities of Chand-led outfit on 12 March, following a blast outside its office in Nakkhu in Southern Nepal that killed one person.
The deceased has been identified as Prajjwal Shahi and is said to be the leader of CPN-aligned student wing. According to the police, he was making a bomb when it accidentally went off.
Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has instructed the law enforcement agencies to step up the security in view of the violence that has erupted in the wake of the general strike.
The outlawed group split from the Maoist party, which fought government troops from 1996 to 2006, when its members gave up their armed revolt to join a peace process and mainstream politics.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI and Associated Press.)
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