An improvised explosive device went off near the office of the Chief Election Officer in Kaski on Thursday.

According to security agencies, the IED went off at Tourist Buspark near the Rastra Bank Chok in Pokhara. Members of the security forces have reached the site. It is still unclear who is responsible for the blast.

The incident took place when Nepal Communist Party Kaski Constituency-2 candidate Bidhya Bhattarai was at the election office to register her nomination for the upcoming by-election for the House of Representatives slated for November 30.

Bhattarai is the wife of Rabindra Adhikari, the minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation who died in a helicopter crash in Taplejung on February 27. The constituency has been vacant since Adhikari’s death. Adhikari was elected from the constituency in 2017 from the CPN-UML.