Kathmandu, April 8

A bomb disposal squad of Nepali Army today defused a socket bomb found in a five-storey building at Basundhara.

A special task force of police had traced the bomb hidden under a sofa in the office room of  World Culture and Art Association, on the fourth floor of the building. Police got a tip-off about the bomb from an unknown person on phone.

Police had found the bomb at around 12:30pm and the NA’s bomb disposal squad was called at around 3:15pm.

According to police, WCAA works as a mediator to organise cultural exchange programmes between South Korea and Nepal.

Police arrested five persons from the office of WCAA suspecting their involvement in planting the bomb. Among them, Prakash Subedi, 27, of Waling, Syangja, is the prime suspect. Subedi works for WCAA.

According to police, other four persons were visitors to WCAA, who said they had visited WCAA for an audition to participate in a cultural exchange programme to be organised by WCAA.

Police are also looking for Dambar Bahadur BC, the operator of WCAA, for investigation.