Hetauda, February 6:

Maoists planted bombs on along the Hetauda-Pathlaiya section of the Mahendra Highway disrupting vehicular movement last night.

Maoists placed bombs wrapped in red cloth at two places on Bridge No 4 at Amlekhgunj VDC of Bara and also a junction of Bridge No 3 and 4. Maoists also placed bombs at different places along the road.

Residents of mid Terai including Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha and Sindhuli districts didn’t get to read newspapers today after the vehicles belonging to The Himalayan Times and Kantipur dailies carrying newspapers were stuck at Hetauda.

Puran Bahadur Joshi, coordinator of the Hetauda School of Management and Social Sciences, said he had to drop the idea of visiting Birgunj because the road is full of bombs.

Many pedestrians and cyclists heading towards Birgunj from Hetauda were stranded at the Bridge No 4 because of the bombs and the security forces reached at the site only this evening.

Meanwhile, the market in Hetauda was partially opened on the second day of the week-long bandh.

Transport service from Hetauda to the rural region including Bhimphedi, Padampokhari, Manhari, Haandikhola, Chatiwan, Phaparbari, Palung, Ambhanjyang and Gadhi has been halted, affecting normal life.

In Bara, the security forces and Maoists exchanged fire after the Maoists opened a firing targeting the Nijgarh-based Unified Security Base Camp last night. Maoists launched firing at 9: 40 pm and the cross firing occurred till 12: 30 last night, said the security base sources. No casualties have been reported.

A report from Siraha said the Maoists bombed and destroyed a culvert on the Siraha-Choharwa last night.

Last night, a group of Maoists set off a bomb at the main gate of the Siraha District Forest Office damaging furniture, windowpanes, doors and computer, said Raj Bahadur Raut, chief of the office.

Meanwhile, a group of five to seven Maoist cadres last night detonated a powerful bomb in a house where Bharat Bahadur Malla, a mayoral candidate of the Kalaiya municipality, had been living in. The house belongs to his father-in-law.

Property worth about Rs 300,000 was damaged in the blast, the District Police Office, said.

A report from Dipayal said the Maoists detonated a pressure cooker bomb at District Land Conservation Office of Doti last night. The blast caused damage to the stairs, walls, furniture and documents of the office. Chief District Officer of Doti, Bhojendra Kumar Chettri, said details of damages were stil not available.

Meanwhile, a report from Rautahat said the joint security forces today rescued two unarmed police head constables who were being abducted by the Maoists. Six Maoists who had come in three motorcycles had abducted the two policemen at around 12:45 p.m. today from Mid Regional Police Boarding School at Jigadiya.