Nepal Maoists hurl bombs

Maoists exploded four bombs tonight at a five-star hotel, partially owned by the Oberoi Group, here shortly after it defied their warning to...

Maoists exploded four bombs tonight at a five-star hotel, partially owned by the Oberoi Group, here shortly after it defied their warning to shut down, even as six multinational firms including Indo-Nepal joint venture Surya Nepal announced closure of their operations in view of the rebels’ threat.

The bombs were thrown past 7 pm near the tennis court at the backyard of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, damaging a transformer and window panes of some adjacent houses, official sources said, adding there was no casualties.

The hotel was one of the 12 firms to whom the Maoists had issued threats. Earlier, its sales manager had said the hotel would operate as usual despite Maoist threat. ‘‘Our hotel has stepped up security measures and we are operating the business,’’ he said.

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In view of the threat, Surya Nepal, whose 59 per cent share is owned by ITC, announced closing down of their factory from tomorrow. ‘‘We are closing down our factory from tomorrow due to the Maoist threat,’’ said Ravi K.C., a representative of Surya Nepal, which employs 450 people.

Makalu Travels, which operates 64 buses, is also closing down its business. The Maoists had threatened to close down 12 companies including Soaltee hotel, Surya Nepal, Makalu Travels, Shraman Apparels, Pashupati Spinning Mills from tomorrow to press their five point demands.

Meanwhile, an explosion killed a 13-year-old boy and injured six people including three policemen in Nepal where a Maoist rebel and a soldier were killed in separate incidents, officials and reports said today.

The blast, triggered by Maoists to target policemen in Narayanghat in southern Nepal yesterday, killed the boy and injured three policemen and as many civilians, officials said. In another incident, the Maoists shot dead a soldier and injured another at Hile Bazaar of Dhankuta district yesterday. The rebels also released Nepal Samacharpatra reporter Durga Thapa who was abducted a couple of weeks ago. —(PTI)