KAVRE: District Court Kavre on Wednesday released Tata Sumo driver Ramesh Gautam on general date with a bail amount of Rs 10,000. He was accused of involvement in an LPG cylinder explosion. Gautam was arrested on August 18, a day after the two-day general strike called by Mohan Baidhya-led CPN-Maoist ended on August 17.

On the second day of bandh, an LPG cylinder had exploded at Sallepakha Community Forest in Banepa. A single bench of Judge Shreekrishna Bhattarai gave the order.

Hiranya Prasad Bhandari, staff at the court said a case of possession of explosive material was filed against Gautam. Gautam had told police that he had borrowed the vehicle as his friend Ashok had sought his help saying that a friend of his was sick.

Gautam added that two persons had boarded the vehicle with a cylinder from Dhaneswor as indicated by his friend and he had returned home after dropping them near Sallepakha forest. He said that he did not know who those two were. The two persons are at large, Kavre police said.