Nepal: Policeman in critical condition after rebel attack

The policeman was guarding the Land Revenue Office in the heart of Katmandu when the Maoist rebels opened fire, wounding him, and then planted a bomb under stairs at the agency.

People rushed out of the building after the shooting and minutes later the bomb exploded, witnesses said. Hundreds of people were lined up at the time to pay land taxes, transfer land ownership and settle disputes, but nobody was wounded.

“People were screaming and jumping over walls”, said Mukesh Sharma, a lawyer, adding that many people would have died had it not been for the shooting.

Doctors at the hospital where the policeman was taken said he was critically injured with wounds to his head and chest. Another man was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Another explosion ripped through an empty police checkpost on the outskirts of Katmandu. No one was injured in that explosion on the Arniko highway, which links Nepal with Tibet.

The bombings came on the third day of the rebels’ blockade of Katmandu to pressure the government into releasing jailed guerrillas. The insurgents have cut off the capital from the rest of the country by merely threatening to attack vehicles. They have not set up a single road block.

Following the explosions, some drivers who had been intending to drive from Katmandu along a highway heading west – the main route out of the capital - changed their minds.

“We could easily be the next victims. No one know where the bombs will come from and who is going to throw it … it is just not worth the risk,” said Kami Gurung, a taxi driver.

Roads are a vital link for Katmandu, which does not have any rail lines. Most of the city’s food, fuel and other supplies are brought in by truck, and the blockade has left stores with only a few days’ worth of fresh produce and cooking fuel.