By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : A day after three blasts shook Kathmandu, killing two and injuring 26, claims for the attacks started pouring in with at least three virtually unknown groups, describing themselves as being from the troubled Terai plains, saying they were the masterminds – claims that are being regarded with scepticism.
As police began a hunt to find the people behind the near-simultaneous explosions just 80 days before a critical election, newspaper offices in Nepal’s border areas began receiving calls, with various groups claiming responsibility.
In Birgunj town near the India-Nepal border, private radio stations were contacted by a caller who identified himself as Varun Yadav and claimed to be the vice-president of the Terai Utthan Sangat.
He claimed the attacks were orchestrated by its “military commander” Baba Sikandar.
Nepal’s mainstream dailies Monday said their reporters in Rautahat district, one of the most trouble-prone spots in the Terai, were rung up by a man calling himself “Mr Jaun” who claimed his Terai Army underground outfit was behind Sunday’s surprise attacks.
The caller claimed that a senior member of the outfit, “Mr Khanna”, had planned the operation after five days of meticulous preparations.
A third caller, identifying himself as belonging to the Nepal People’s Army, said the attacks were intended to force the government into abolishing monarchy.
Calling himself Pushkar, the man claimed his group had nearly 200 “soldiers” who would continue such attacks until Nepal was declared a republic.
The tabloid press Monday reported yet a fourth organisation, calling itself the Gorkha Mukti Morcha, claiming it was behind the attacks. However, the claims have few takers.
Till Sunday, no one had heard of these organisations. Also, the attacks showed planning superior to the usual hit and run attacks that are the hallmark of the Terai groups.
Police said the bombs had timers and were planted by someone who knew the capital well.
One bomb was stashed away under the bench in a bus station in Tripureshwor, a busy commercial area close to Nepal’s biggest shopping mall, the World Trade Centre, which has a glass front, a school and a dance bar.
The blast killed a twelfth grader and injured at least six students who were waiting for their buses to return home.
The second blast occurred in a mini bus in the Balaju area, ripping off the roof and hurtling passengers on the road. A middle-aged woman died in the explosion that is believed to have occurred after a gunny bag, left by a passenger below the seat, went off.
The passenger with the bag had got down earlier and though the bus driver’s assistant noticed he had left his bag behind, it did not raise any suspicion.
The third blast, which injured a soldier of the Nepal Army, occurred near the army headquarters, close to Tripureshwor.
Nepal’s government said the attacks were the work of criminals and aimed at sabotaging the constituent assembly election to be held Nov 22.
Condemnations started pouring in from the UN and political parties, including the Maoists, who denied any involvement in the incidents.
Police patrols stepped up searches of vehicles on the routes leading out of Kathmandu. The attacks, the first since the Maoists signed a peace pact last year, showed how unprepared the multi-party government was to tackles disasters.
They came even as there was large-scale deployment of police personnel in the capital Sunday following protests by Maoists to secure the release of their cadres arrested last month.
The protests threw traffic out of gear in the Tripureshwor area for hours, while soon after the blasts, mobile phone networks of both the state-run Nepal Telephone and private Spice Nepal failed.
The inadequate government reaction came late at night, asking people not to panic and announcing free medical treatment for the victims.
The blasts throw doubts about the state’s ability to hold the election, when there is likely to be stronger opposition in the Terai as well.