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Maoists burn 2 Indian vehicles in Nepal
September 28, 2004 14:21 IST
Maoists burnt two Indian vehicles as the two-day strike called by the rebels to protest the killing and arrest of their men by security forces began on Tuesday. A bank was also slightly damaged in a bomb blast, security forces said. The shut-down affected five zones in the eastern and central regions of the country, including capital Kathmandu, leading to the closure of schools, businesses, transport and markets.
Security has been stepped up especially along the highways in central and eastern Nepal.
Maoists burnt two jeeps with Indian number plates in Dhading district, 75km west of Kathmandu, the security sources said. The vehicles were coming from Pokhara to Kathmandu on a tour to South Asian countries as part of the Asian People's March for Economic Sovereignty, when the rebels accosted them.
The Maoists forced 22 Indian nationals, including four journalists, three Nepalese nationals and one Filipino national to get out of the vehicles before setting them on fire, the police said. They also burnt eight Nepalese vehicles. All the passengers were safely brought to Kathmandu with the help of security escorts.
A bomb caused some damage to the Nepal-Bangladesh Bank and several houses in Lalitpur on the outskirts of the capital. There were no casualties, the police said.
The rebels also set ablaze a passenger bus on Janakpur-Jaleswar highway in central Nepal on Monday. They forced all passengers out from the bus before setting it on fire. Last week, the Maoist rebels rejected the Nepal government's offer for secret talks, saying they would be willing to resume dialogue only if it clarified matters relating to the army, the palace, the constituent assembly and the role of the political parties.