 | | Image from NepalNews.com |
According to a Kathmandu Post article, a powerful bomb was detonated on March 11th by Maoist guerrillas at the future site of Mahendranagar Medical College, Khairbhatti.
According to reports, the college site had been encircled by hundreds of the rebels before the bomb was detonated. The blast occured after four security guards at the site were overtaken by approximately seven rebels.
According to witnesses, the campus site was looted prior to the explosion by the insurgents, who made off with technical instruments as well as many electrical appliances. Estimates are that the cost of the looted items would be in the millions of rupees (tens of thousands of dollars).
The school, which just started teaching medical classes in January of 2005, has an enrollment of 45 students.
In other news, the former Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba, was released from house arrest. The former government leader had been arrested on February 1st, when King Gyanendra of Nepal, citing growing ineffectiveness in the fight against Maoist rebels, instituted emergency powers, curtailed democratic rights, and had members of parliament arrested or detained.
He urged the King to quickly form a consensus government and restore democratic rights, according to a report in the Nepal News ( http://www.nepalnews.com/ ). He noted that his own Nepali Congress party would attempt to unite with four other parties to form a peaceful democratic restoration movement.
Other prominent politicians released on March 11th included Purna Bahadur Khadka, the former Home Minsiter of Nepal, as well as Haribol Bhattarai, a former mayor of the capital city of Kathmandu and leader of the Nepali Congress Party. An additional 22 members of the Nepali Congress Party were also released.
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