Nepalgunj, May 17:

An unidentified group of armed men attacked the chief of the Mahendra Multiple Campus in Nepalgunj, Sitaram Raj Bista, and his wife, last night, leaving both of them critically injured.

Over seven masked assailants broke into Bista’s residence on the Campus premises and shot at him.

The assailants also attacked Bista’s wife, 37-year-old Shanta Bista, with a sharp weapon.

She has sustained serious head injuries.

Bista sustained two gunshot wounds in his stomach, while the assailants also hit him on the head with a sharp weapon, Superintendent of Police at the Banke District Police Office Uttam Karki said.

The assailants looted Rs 60,000 in cash, one mobile phone set and other valuables from campus chief Bista’s house.

The assailants spoke the local Awadhi and Hindi languages. After preliminary treatment in the Bheri Zonal Hospital, the Bistas were taken to Kathmandu and are reported to be out

of danger.

A massive manhunt for the assailants has been launched, the district police said.

Shanta Bista, who is an employee of Nepal Telecom, was transferred to Nepalgunj a few days ago. Bista said they had no enmity with anyone. Some unidentified persons had also detonated a bomb outside Bista’s residence a few days ago. Meanwhile, a meeting of

district-based leaders of the eight political parties condemned the incident.

In a statement, Nepalgunj-based human rights activists also condemned the act.

Lecturers and other campus staff, who live in the quarters on the campus premises, said they would move out soon due to security reasons.

Students of Mahendra Multiple Campus disrupted traffic in front of the campus to protest the incident. The campus was closed today and will remain so tomorrow as well.