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Maoists burn DPS school bus, ambush police vehicle; 7 killed

Activists of the students front of the Maoists set on fire the bus of the Nepal branch of the DPS at a village near Dharan, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, when it was returning to school after dropping students in protest against playing of the Indian national anthem in the institution, police sources said.

In another incident, Maoist extremists attacked a group of 46 personnel of the Armed Police Forces were heading to Birendranagar in Surket district, 450 km from Kathmandu, in a truck, official sources said on Sunday.

Five policemen and the driver of the truck were killed on the spot and two of their colleagues were injured.

Minister of State for Home, Devendra Raj Kandel, told PTI that 38 other policemen, earlier feared missing, were safe.

Three persons suspected to be Maoist ultras were killed when a bomb hidden in a house exploded in Sunseri district of eastern Nepal, nearly 300 km from the capital.

In an another incident in Sunseri, the Maoists set off a bomb that left one person dead.

The latest burst of violence by Maoists came two days after they killed 37 security personnel and two civilians across Nepal.

Home ministry officials said between 70 and 80 guerrillas might have been killed in separate encounters with security personnel during the attacks.

The exact number of casualties on the rebel side could not be confirmed because of the remoteness of the areas where the incidents took place. Besides, the Maoists usually take away the bodies of their deceased cadres or bury them after clashes, the officials said.

The officials said that large number of arms and ammunitions were believed to have been taken away by the guerrillas from the military barrack in Dang district, including 400 guns, self loading rifles and machine guns.

Meanwhile, the ruling Nepalese Congress Party has asked the government to deal with the security problem in the country 'strongly'.

It said the government should exercise all rights under the constitution of the Himalayan kingdom to guarantee peace and security.

Under article 115 of the constitution, emergency can be declared in case of war, external threat, armed revolution or devastating economic crisis.

The king after consultations with the prime minister may declare partial or total emergency in the country for six months, which must be ratified by two-thirds of the member of the house of representatives and may be extended for another six months, subject to approval by the House.

The army can be mobilised by the king under article 118 of the constitution, which deals with the security council headed by the prime minister.

The Indo-Asian News Service reports that Nepal is considering slapping emergency in areas worst hit by intensive Maoists attacks.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was given the mandate to take stern action against the Maoists, including declaring them terrorists, to restore peace at an all-party meet at his residence late on Saturday.

"The government must declare them (Maoists) terrorists," Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka told reporters after the meet.

The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) central working committee is expected to endorse the measures at its emergency meeting, convened on Sunday at Deuba's request, to discuss the current political and security situation in the country.

Maoists had overnight broke a four-month truce to negotiate an end to Nepal's worst conflict, after three rounds of failed negotiations. The Maoist insurgency has already claimed about 2,000 lives in six years.

The home and defence ministries, which control the police and army respectively, issued separate statements saying they would go all out to contain Maoist violence. The defence ministry has specified mobilisation of all security agencies, including the army.

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