By PTI

KATHMANDU: A bomb exploded today at the office of a hydroelectricity project in Nepal developed with Indian assistance, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a media report said.

The compound wall of 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Khandbari-9, Tumlingtar, nearly 500 km from here, suffered minor damage after the explosion, My Republica reported.

The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.

The power plant is scheduled to be inaugurated by Modi on his upcoming visit to Nepal on May 11, the report said.

A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi, the report said.

The wall on the south side is slightly damaged due to the bomb explosion, Police Inspector Bed Prasad Gautam said.

The investigation is going on about the incident.

However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.

This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises. </s> KATHMANDU: India has asked Nepal to investigate the bomb blast at the office of a hydroelectricity project developed with the Indian assistance in the eastern part of the Himalayan nation.

The compound wall of the 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Tumlingtar area, nearly 500-km from here, was damaged in the explosion, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Indian embassy here has discussed the matter with the Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry, an official at the embassy has said.

Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali yesterday said they had asked the Home Ministry to investigate the matter.

The explosion caused minor damaged to the office.

However, no one was injured in the blast, officials said yesterday.

An unidentified group was behind the explosion targeting Arun III office situated at Tumlingtar, they said.

Following the incident, security has been stepped up in the area.

The blast comes at a time when preparations were going on for laying foundation stone of the project by Modi during his official visit to Nepal on May 11.

This is the second blast in a month targeting Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises.

Nepal is currently facing shortage of power and the production of hydropower from the project will mainly serve its domestic demands.

The project is expected to bring in USD 1.

5 billion foreign direct investment into Nepal and create jobs for thousands of people. </s> A bomb went off at the office of a hydroelectricity plant project in Nepal, weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to lay the foundation stone. The blast occurred in eastern Nepal’s Tumlingtar area, almost 500 kms from national capital Kathmandu. India is helping build Nepal develop the project. The compound wall of the plant’s office in Tumlingtar was damaged in the explosion, Siva Raj Joshi, chief district officer of the Sankhuwasabha district, told news agency PTI.

There were no injuries or loss of life in the explosion, PTI quoted Joshi, adding that a probe has been initiated. As of yet, no individual or group has come forward to claim responsibility for the same, he said.

The explosion comes at a time when the site was being readied for PM Modi to inaugurate the project when he visited Nepal on an official tour on May 11. The 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant is scheduled to become functional by 2020.

State-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) had signed a Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the hydroelectric plant project on November 25, 2014, during PM Modi visit, in the presence of then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. The project is expected to rake in $1.5 billion FDI into Nepal, and give job creation a big push.

Sunday’s explosion is the second within a month at Indian properties in Nepal. A pressure cooker bomb had gone off close to the Indian Embassy field office in Nepal’s Biratnagar on April 17. The walls of the premises had been damaged then.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> A bomb exploded today at the office of a hydroelectricity project being developed with Indian assistance in eastern Nepal , an official said, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi The compound wall of the 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Tumlingtar area, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu , was damaged in the explosion, said Siva Raj Joshi, Chief District Officer of the Sankhuwasabha district.The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.The blast comes at a time when preparations are going on for laying foundation stone of the project by Modi during his official visit to Nepal on May 11.No one was injured in the blast and an investigation has been launched, he said.However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi.This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises.Nepal is currently facing shortage of power and the production of hydropower from the project will mainly serve its domestic demands.The project is expected to bring in USD 1.5 billion foreign direct investment into Nepal and create jobs for thousands of people. </s> A bomb exploded on Sunday at the office of a being developed with Indian assistance in eastern Nepal, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said.

The compound wall of the 900 Megawatts (Mw) Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Khandbari-9, Tumlingtar, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, was damaged in the explosion, said Siva Raj Joshi, Chief District Officer of the Sankhuwasabha district.

The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.

The blast comes at a time when preparations are going on for laying foundation stone of the project by Modi during his official visit to Nepal on May 11.

No one was injured in the blast and an investigation has been launched, he said. The wall on the south side is slightly damaged due to the bomb explosion, Police Inspector Bed Prasad Gautam said.

However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.

A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi.

This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises. </s> KATHMANDU, May 27 — Four men died and seven were injured yesterday in three separate explosions in Kathmandu, Nepali police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police said they suspect involvement of a Maoist splinter group whose pamphlets were found in a house where one of the explosions took place.

A powerful blast inside a shop killed three people and injured four, while the explosion at a home about four kilometres away left one dead and another injured.

Two more were injured when an explosive they were carrying on a motorcycle in the outskirts of Kathmandu exploded.

Security personnel also defused explosives in other areas.

“We are investigating all incidents and have stepped up the security,” police spokesman Bishwa Raj Pokharel told AFP.

Pokharel said that seven people have been arrested so far.

The incidents come on the eve of a nationwide strike called the same Maoist splinter group, protesting death of their cadre in a police encounter over a week ago.

Nepal has enjoyed a relatively peaceful environment since the end of a decade-long civil war which concluded with a peace deal struck in 2006.

But some former guerrillas, have broken away, accusing its leaders of betraying their original revolutionary ideals.

In February, the group was implicated in an explosion that killed one person outside the office of a telecom company Ncell, part of Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad.

The government outlawed the group following the incident, banning their activities. — AFP </s> KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Four people were killed and seven others injured on Sunday in three separate explosions in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, and police said they suspected a Maoist splinter group may have been responsible.

Police numbering is seen on an explosion site in Kathmandu, Nepal May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

“Three people were killed on the spot and the fourth one died while undergoing treatment at a hospital,” police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said, adding that the nature of the blasts was under investigation.

One person was killed in an explosion inside a house in the Ghattekulo residential area in the heart of the city.

“I heard a big noise and rushed to the spot to find the walls of a house had developed cracks due to the impact of the blast,” 17-year-old student Govinda Bhandari told Reuters at the site of the first blast.

The second blast took place near a hairdresser’s in the Sukedhara area on the outskirts of the city, where three people were killed.

The third blast, a crude device, went off near a brick kiln in the Thankot area of Kathmandu, injuring two people, police said.

All of the seven injured people were taken to hospital.

A Reuters photographer at the site of the second blast said it had shattered the door and window panes of the shop and the area had been sealed off by the army.

Gyawali, the police official, said they suspect the blasts may have been the work of a splinter group of former Maoist rebels who are opposed to the government for arresting its supporters.

“A pamphlet from the group has been found at the site of the first blast,” Gyawali said.

The house was used to make improvised or crude explosive devices by activists from the group, he said, adding that one of the injured people was a supporter.

Nepal emerged from a decade-long Maoist civil war in 2006 and the main group of the former rebels has joined the party that runs the government now.

The breakaway group of former rebels carried out a similar blast in Kathmandu in February, in which one person was killed and two others were injured.

No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s blasts. </s> Three dead, six injured in Nepal blasts

Three men died and six were injured Sunday in two separate explosions in Kathmandu, Nepali police said.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police said they suspect involvement of a Maoist splinter group whose pamphlets were found in a house where one of the explosions took place.

A powerful blast inside a shop killed two people and injured five, while the explosion at the house about four kilometres away left one dead and another injured.

"We are investigating both incidents," Police spokesman Bishwa Raj Pokharel told AFP.

Nepal has enjoyed a relatively peaceful environment since the end of a decade-long civil war which concluded with a peace deal struck in 2006.

But some former guerrillas, have broken away, accusing its leaders of betraying their original revolutionary ideals.

In February, the same Maoist splinter group was implicated in an explosion that killed one person outside the office of a telecom company Ncell, part of Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad.

The government outlawed the group following the incident, banning their activities. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption One of the blasts struck a shop

At least four people died and seven others were injured in three explosions in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, officials say.

The three blasts - one in the centre and two on the outskirts - took place on Sunday afternoon local time.

Improvised or crude explosive devices are believed to have been used to set off the blasts, police said.

One official told reporters a Maoist splinter group was under suspicion after pamphlets were found nearby.

The same group is alleged to have carried out an explosion in February which killed one person in Kathmandu.

However, no one has claimed responsibilities for the attacks.

Police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said three of those killed died "on the spot", while the fourth died in hospital.

The pamphlets were found at a home on the outskirts of the city, where the first blast took place, he added.

Student Govinda Bhandari, 17, told Reuters news agency: "I heard a big noise and rushed to the spot to find the walls of a house had developed cracks due to the impact of the blast."

Just one person died in the initial explosion, while three died in a second incident near a hairdressers in the city centre.

The third blast happened several hours later and is reported to have injured two members of the group transporting an explosive device.

Security forces have sealed off the locations of the blasts and say investigations are under way.

Since a decade-long civil war ended in 2006, Nepal has been relatively peaceful, with the main group of the former rebels joining the ruling government party the next year.

However, some have now broken away, saying their leaders are betraying their original revolutionary ideals.
A bomb explodes outside the Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant in Tumlingtar, Nepal. No group claimed credit for the attack. The plant was codeveloped with India and is due to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi within weeks.