Maoists go on rampage in eastern Nepal

[World News]: Kathmandu, March 17 : Nepal's Maoists, who announced a fresh spate of disruptions from March 14, went on a rampage in eastern Nepal, destroying a telecommunication tower and attacking two government offices, damaging property worth millions.

The Maoist guerrillas carried out the multi-pronged attack in Inarwa, headquarters of Sunsari district in eastern Nepal next to the Indian border.

A morning blast Wednesday destroyed the office of the state-run Nepal Telecom authorities, destroying property worth about Nepali Rs.500 million, the state media reported Thursday.

About 1,200 telephone lines in the headquarters were disrupted following the blast. The telephone lines of 19 other village development areas were also disconnected.

The outlaws also bombed the forest office and topography office Wednesday morning, destroying furniture, documents and records. The attacks come after the top leader of the rebels, Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, issued a statement last week, announcing his outlawed party would start a fresh round of disruptive activities from March 14 to protest against King Gyanendra's Feb 1 royal coup.


The rebels had called a 15-day blockade of Nepal's highways last month to protest against the royal takeover, threatening there would be more disruptions if the king did not rollback his action.

Nepal's media has remained silent on the Maoist agitation due to a ban slapped by the new regime on the media, asking them to report rebel activities only if they are issued by the security agencies. Despite the curb on the flow of information, the rebels have apparently started disruptions in the terai plains in eastern Nepal.

The state media reported the army was providing escorts to vehicles on the Mahendra highway in eastern Nepal and security pickets were patrolling the area.

It also said the army had defused bombs planted by the rebels in two southern districts, Makwanpur and Kapilavastu.

The state media held the outlaws responsible for the attack on an editor in eastern Nepal early this week.

Khagendra Shrestha, editor of a Nepalese publication, "Dharan Today", was shot in the head in Sunsari by a group of people in Sunsari. The army said six outlaws were killed in separate incidents this week during the course of search operations.

However, the news could not be confirmed independently.

Early this week, the army had said the outlawed Maoists had expelled their second most senior leader and his wife from the party. The same day the underground guerrillas issued a statement, denying the ouster of Baburam Bhattarai and his wife Hisila Yami.

--Indo-Asian News Service Sphere: Related Content