The central committee of the Youth Organisation of Nepal, a sister-wing of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, claimed responsibility for the explosion in Basundhara, Kathmandu, on Friday night, stating that it was only a “warning attack”.

The blast, which occurred at the residence of Rohan Gurung, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, destroyed a Land Cruiser parked on the ground floor and the exterior of the house, while there were no casualties.

“We had, for long, warned Gurung to end his illegal activities. The explosion was just a symbolic one because our warnings were neglected,” reads the statement released by the youth wing.

Security personnel inspect the damage caused by the explosion to the house of Rohan Gurung, the Chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, in Basundhara, Kathmandu, on Friday. POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA

 According to the statement, they had been warning Gurung, who is also the managing director of Top Jobs Pvt Ltd, to put an end to cheating people and to stop empowering human-trafficking agencies and protecting traffickers.

“If our warnings are still not taken seriously, then we will take harsher actions than the recent symbolic one,” reads the statement.

The explosion occurred two weeks after a blast by the Chand’s party in Nakkhu, Lalitpur, which killed one person and injured two others.

“It is the citizen(s)’ responsibility to report threats and warnings so that the police can take preventive measures to ensure public safety and to arrest criminals and perpetrators of such crimes,” SSP Uttam Raj Subedi, spokesperson for the Nepal Police, told the Post.

According to police sources, Ncell had also received threats prior to the explosion at its headquarters in Nakkhu, Lalitpur. However, the company failed to report the threats to the authorities.

Further investigations into the Nakkhu blast had revealed that Chand’s party had planned for a month before attacking the Ncell headquarters and its communication towers across the country.

“The investigation is ongoing and the perpetrators behind the explosion at Basundhara will be arrested soon,” DIG Shailesh Thapa Kshetri, chief of the Metropolitan Police Office, told the Post.

Gurung's neighbour Keshav Shrestha shows the damage caused by the blast to his home. POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA

“The organisation has warned of similar activities, but we are prepared for it. Security has been intensified across the Valley.”

Despite the Youth Organisation’s accusations, police said they have not received any complaint against Gurung for his alleged offences.

“We have not received any complaints against Gurung, but if someone has been cheated by him or has been trafficked, we will definitely investigate,” said Kshetri.

Police, along with security experts, have been arguing that the government should determine whether the Chand-led party should be treated as a political outfit or a terror group. Experts have also said that the longer it takes to pin down the perpetrators, the bigger the security challenges will be.

“Our major responsibility is to arrest individuals behind any form of criminal activity. Even if the government does not determine the reality of the Chand-led party, we will be performing our responsibility and will take necessary actions. It would, however, be helpful to plan further strategies if the government made its position clear on Chand’s party,” said Subedi.

Police have already started their operations against groups such as Chand’s by raiding their areas or arresting people involved in activities against the law.

Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force on March 7 raided the hometown of Chand in Kapilvastu, and seized two submachine guns, and a Chinese pistol, along with ammunitions.