By DPA,
Kathmandu : A bomb exploded at the private residence of Nepalese Vice-President Parmananda Jha, injuring at least one person, the police said Sunday.
The police said the bomb exploded at Jha’s house on the eastern outskirts of the city Sunday evening during a power outage. The vice-president was in the house at the time.
“The bomb was thrown into the compound from outside and injured a soldier assigned for the vice-president’s security,” the Kathmandu district police said.
“The vice-president was at his home at the time and is safe.”
A group calling itself the National Liberation Army took responsibility for the blast.
The police said they could not immediately confirm the claim.
Extra police force sealed off the area and beefed up security around the Gairighat area of the city where the house is located.
The police said they did not have details and that investigations were continuing.
The police also said they did not know the motive for the attack.
Jha is in the midst of a controversy over his oath-taking in Hindi in July after his election.
Strikes and protests against him crippled normal life across the country and protesters demanded his resignation.
But the protests subsided after Jha apologised, saying he did not intend to humiliate the national sentiment.
Jha is an ethnic Madhesi representing the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum which spearheaded protests in southern Nepal in January and February calling for greater rights for the Madhesi community.