Nepalgunj, February 14:

Human rights organisations based in Banke district today condemned yesterday’s bomb blast in the Nepalgunj-based regional office of Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal).

Organising a press meet at the blast site here today, the rights organisations concluded that the attack was an attack on the human rights movement of the country.

“The attack on the OHCHR office is an attack on the entire human rights movement of the country,” Sarita Gyawali, officer at the Nepalgunj office of National Human Rights Commission,

said.

A gang had hurled a socket bomb on the premises of OHCHR office at around 8:15 pm yesterday. The blast, however, caused no human casualty. Pamphlets issued by Bhishan Himali Bagh, a little known group, were found from the site. The group claimed responsibility for the attack.

A team led by Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Janardan Sharma ‘Prabhakar’ inspected the site today and condemned the attack.

Meanwhile, INSEC, Bar Association of Nepalgunj Appellate Court, Advocacy Forum, Nepal Bar Association Human Rights Project, Nepal Engineers’ Association, Non-Resident Nepalis’ Association, Force Nepal, Banke district chapter of NGO Federation of Nepal and Press Chautari Nepal, among others, condemned the attack.

“We condemn the attack on the office of the international organisation working for the protection and promotion of human rights in Nepal,” a joint statement released by the organisations read. It ads, “The office has been carrying out its duties ever since it was established during the insurgency.”

They also demanded the government for failing to maintain law and order situation in the country and demanded immediate action against the guilty.

Chief of OHCHR Nepalgunj office Katiya said the police had been investigating into the incident. “We will make public the details of the incident after receiving the investigation report,” she added.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today condemned the attack and urged the government to probe into the incident and take strong action against the guilty. The NHRC said it had also initiated a separate investigation into the incident.