Itahari, April 29:

Two persons today hurled a socket bomb at a microbus, boarded by six journalists, at Kadamgachhi of Khanar in Sunsari.

The bomb, hurled by the duo riding a motorcycle, however, missed the target. All the journalists on board — Bishnu Pokhrel, Saraswati Karki, Uddhav Ghimire, Gokul Parajuli, Dhruv Rijal and Chaman Basnet — escaped safe, said a journalist Bishnu Pokhrel. They were heading towards Kerabari of Morang to collect news of a programme scheduled to be addressed by Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan.

The police has launched a probe into the incident, Sunsari police chief Yadav Raj Khanal said. No one has taken responsibility for the incident as of yet but the police has suspected involvement of Tarai Tiger activists. Meanwhile, different district-based journalists’ organisations have condemned the incident and have demanded action against the culprits.