By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Feb. 10: Police have detained seven cadres of the outlawed Netra Bikram Chand Biplav outfit for their alleged involvement in the explosion of a pressure-cooker bomb at the house of Shova Kanta Dhakal in Dhungedhara of Nagarjun Municipality-1, Kathmandu.

The bomb had gone off at the main gate of Dhakal’s house on January 15. Dhakal is the man to against whom the CIAA had filed a corruption charge sheet in the land grab case of Baluwatar also known as Lalita Niwas land scam.

A police squad deployed from Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Teku, nabbed them from different locations of Kathmandu on February 6, 7 and 8, Superintendent of Police (SP) and spokesperson at the Crime Division, Mukesh Singh said.

The arrested have been identified as Bhim Adhikari alias Rakshak of Narayan Municipality-11 of Dailekh district, Bishnu Prasad Adhikari (Bijay) of Pokhara Metropolitan City of Kaski district, and Hari Chandra Khadka of Khandadevi Guanpalika-1 of Ramechhap district.

Similarly, Kapil Bhatta (Pratik) of Bhimsenthapa Gaunpalika of Gorkha district, Dinesh Nagarkoti (Babi) of Gokarneshwore Municipality, Bikash Thapa of Sulikot Gaunpalika and Raj Kumar Magar of Jugal Gaunpalika of Sindhupalchowk district have also been arrested.

Police have claimed that arrested were identified as members of All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary).

Police have recovered various documents belonging to their banned Communist Party of Nepal.

Among the arrested cadres, Babi and Thapa are Gandaki Bureau members and municipal chair of Gokarneshwore Rural Municipality, respectively. Bhatta was a member of Gandaki Bureau.    

Similarly, Raj Kumar Magar is Lalitpur District chairman of Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary).

In the blast, a parked private car at the house of Dhakal was damaged completely and window glasses of four other houses nearby Dahakal’s home were also broken. No human casualty was reported in the incident.

On the same night of the incident, the Biplav group issuing a press note had owned up the of the blast. The group had also planted another bomb at Baluwatar same day.