JHAPA: The residence of a journalist was the target of a bomb by an unidentified group in Jhapa district on Friday night.

A socket bomb was planted by unknown persons in the house belonging to Deepak Adhikary, editor and publisher of Naulo Awaj Weekly at Sangam Chwok in Bhadrapur municipality-4.

“The bomb might have been planted on Friday night but I saw it lying on the side of the door when I got up for a bathroom visit at 2:30 am on Saturday,” Adhikary said.

He said that he alerted the police which sent a team to his house and took the bomb to the bank of Mechi River, a kilometre south of his house at 4:30 am.

A squad of Nepali Army defused the bomb on the river bank, Adhikary said.

“Arun Paswan, posing as the chairman of Terai Madhes Janatantrik Morcha- Revolutionary has claimed responsibility for the incident,” Adhikary said.

Adhikary also operates the office of Naulo Awaj Weekly from his house.

Adhikari is central council member of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists and a member of the Unified CPN-Maoist aligned Jhapa chapter of the Revolutionary Journalists' Association.