Police on Sunday arrested a 22-year-old youth from Jumla for throwing a shoe targeting ruling Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The youth has been identified as Ratan Tiruwa, son of a former Maoist fighter who died during the war.

“After the arrest, he was taken to the Metropolitan Police Circle, Singha Durbar,” Senior Superintendent Kiran Bajracharya of the Metropolitan Police Office Rani Pokhari, told the Post.

Dahal was speaking at a function organised to mark Bharat Mohan Adhikari’s first memorial day at the City Hall in Kathmandu when Tiruwa threw the shoe at the ruling party chairman. The shoe, however, did not hit Dahal.

“During interrogation, Tiruwa said he got angry when Dahal started speaking about class struggle,” said Bajracharya. “Further investigation is on.”

According to police, Tiruwa, who currently lives in Dallu, Kathmandu, is preparing for Public Service Commission exams.

This is, however, not the first time Dahal has been attacked at a public function.

Earlier on November 16, 2012, Dahal was slapped by a former Maoist fighter.

Padam Kunwar, 25, from Baglung slapped Dahal when he was exchanging greetings at a tea reception organised by his party, then known as the Unified CPN (Maoist), in Bhrikuti Mandap. Dahal was unhurt but his glasses were broken.

Kunwar was severely thrashed by the former Maoist combatants before he was rescued by police.

Dahal’s Maoist party had taken the assault as a serious conspiracy against democracy by national and international regressive elements.

Dahal is not the only politician to have been attacked at public functions.

In September 2012, then Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala was attacked by his own party cadres at a programme. Back in January 2011, Jhala Nath Khanal, then chairman of the former CPN-UML, was slapped on his face by Devi Prasad Regmi at a function in Sunsari. A month later, Khanal was elected prime minister after 16 rounds of voting in the then Constituent Assembly that doubled up as parliament, breaking a seven-month-long political deadlock.

Former Maoist leaders on Sunday described the attack on Dahal as part of a premeditated plan.

“This looks like a planned effort at a time when a serious conflict is ongoing within the party,” said Yubaraj Chaulagain, a central member of the party who represents the former Maoist party. “I don’t think the programme had anything to do with the emotions of former Maoist fighters. Things are going from bad to worse in the party by the day.”

Tika R Pradhan contributed reporting.