CPN M torches school vehicle

Kirtipur, July 22

Two unidentified persons this morning set a school bus belonging to Modern Indian School on fire in Kirtipur.

The bus (Na 1 Pa 1023) was on its way to pick up students when it was stopped by the two persons and set on fire in front of Laboratory School, Kirtipur Municipality-3, at around 6:15am.

No one was injured in the incident. All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), student wing of CPN Maoist led by Netra Bikram Chand, later claimed the responsibility of arson.

The bus has suffered damage in the arson. Police together with locals had doused the fire.

According to police, the two men had doused the bus with petrol, asked the driver to get off and set it on fire. Police said they were searching for the culprits.

The incident of arson and vandalism in a school bus goes against the spirit 'Schools as Zones of Peace', a directive the government had endorsed in May 2011 declaring.