Bomb Blast in Catholic Church, Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 25, 2009, 10.45 Hrs (CBCI News based on Agency reports):

A bomb exploded at the Assumption Church in Dhobighat in Lalipur in Nepal's capital Kathmandu killing two and injuring dozen others. The explosion occurred at 9.15 a.m Saturday.

A teenager and a newly-married woman on her honeymoon from eastern India were killed while over a dozen others, mostly youngsters, were injured in the explosion.

Dipa Patrick, a 30-year-old woman from Patna in India's Bihar state who had arrived with her husband Vikash Patrick and two sisters-in-law four days ago to spend their honeymoon in Kathmandu, had planned a quick visit to the Assumption Church in the morning before returning to Patna by afternoon.

Her body now lies for post mortem at the Patan Hospital while her husband, who works for the up-market Chanakya Hotel in Patna, is grappling with death.

Two cousins of Vikash, Sweety Singh, 16, and Mona Patrick, 21, all of them from Patna, are also being treated at the same hospital.

According to sources, there were at least 500 people attending the church service when the blast went off. Since Sundays are working days, Christians usually attend church on Saturdays when schools and offices remain closed.

A dazed Sun Bahadur Tamang, who survived the explosion, sqid:

"An obese woman, who looked to be in her late 30s, came up to us at the place of prayer and sat down right next to my wife," the 50-year-old said. "Then she asked us where the toilet was and went out, saying she would be back. She left her handbag behind," he recalled.

The bomb was in the handbag pushed under her seat which blew up around 9.15 a.m., police told. There was pandemonium in the church compound as panicky people ran towards the gate.

"I toppled over to one side," said Tamang. "And now, I can't hear anything."

Still, the elderly man who sat in his blood-spattered shirt in Alka Hospital was luckier than his wife Sunmaya. The 45-year-old Sunmaya, who had sat next to the 'killer woman', received serious injuries and is not yet out of danger.

The general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal, Dr. K.B. Rokaya, said he was deeply pained by the incident that "occurred in one of the largest church in Nepal."
“This is a very sad incident. This is going to affect the harmonious co-existence and religious tolerance of Nepal. This certainly should be condemned as innocent people have died,” he said.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, initial investigation suggests the handiwork of Hindu extremists. Pamphlets from the ‘National Defence Army’- a Hindu extremist group - were found in the blast site.

“This is a newly emerged Hindu group. In the past too there have been such incidents against Christians which the group was involved,” pointed out Rokaya.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, pamphlets found around the premises suggest involvement of the Hindu extremist group Nepal Defense Army (NDA). The pamphlets found read out the demands of the group which included declaration of a Hindu nation, compulsory Sanskrit education till middle school, and public holidays on Hindu festivals. Nepal Defense Army is the same group that was suspected of killing Father John Prakash principal of Don Bosco Christian school in in Dharan, last year. The 60-year-old Salesian priest who served as the was shot dead by five masked men at his residence.

NDA, which strives to restore Nepal as an exclusive Hindu nation, has been responsible for several bomb blasts across Nepal from the year 2006.

The police have identified the bomb as a low-intensity IED. The bomb was hidden underneath a seat in the prayer hall.

The attack has been condemned by Father Silas Bogati, Pastor of the Assumption Church and Damodar Gautam of World Hindu Federation.

Nepal had been a monarchy throughout most of its history. After it was declared a federal democratic republic in May 28, 2008, the country never witnessed any attack of this sort on churches.

The explosion has come in the backdrop of recent political turmoil and the process of forming new government that began on Friday.

Nepal, according to the 2001 census, has 80.6 percent Hindus, 10.7 percent Buddhists, 4.2 percent Muslims and 0.5 percent Christians.

A bomb exploded at the Assumption Church in Dhobighat in Lalipur in Nepal's capital Kathmandu killing two and injuring dozen others. The explosion occurred at 9.15 a.m Saturday.

A teenager and a newly-married woman on her honeymoon from eastern India were killed while over a dozen others, mostly youngsters, were injured in the explosion.

Dipa Patrick, a 30-year-old woman from Patna in India's Bihar state who had arrived with her husband Vikash Patrick and two sisters-in-law four days ago to spend their honeymoon in Kathmandu, had planned a quick visit to the Assumption Church in the morning before returning to Patna by afternoon.

Her body now lies for post mortem at the Patan Hospital while her husband, who works for the up-market Chanakya Hotel in Patna, is grappling with death.

Two cousins of Vikash, Sweety Singh, 16, and Mona Patrick, 21, all of them from Patna, are also being treated at the same hospital.

According to sources, there were at least 500 people attending the church service when the blast went off. Since Sundays are working days, Christians usually attend church on Saturdays when schools and offices remain closed.

A dazed Sun Bahadur Tamang, who survived the explosion, sqid:

"An obese woman, who looked to be in her late 30s, came up to us at the place of prayer and sat down right next to my wife," the 50-year-old said. "Then she asked us where the toilet was and went out, saying she would be back. She left her handbag behind," he recalled.

The bomb was in the handbag pushed under her seat which blew up around 9.15 a.m., police told. There was pandemonium in the church compound as panicky people ran towards the gate.

"I toppled over to one side," said Tamang. "And now, I can't hear anything."

Still, the elderly man who sat in his blood-spattered shirt in Alka Hospital was luckier than his wife Sunmaya. The 45-year-old Sunmaya, who had sat next to the 'killer woman', received serious injuries and is not yet out of danger.

The general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal, Dr. K.B. Rokaya, said he was deeply pained by the incident that "occurred in one of the largest church in Nepal."
“This is a very sad incident. This is going to affect the harmonious co-existence and religious tolerance of Nepal. This certainly should be condemned as innocent people have died,” he said.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, initial investigation suggests the handiwork of Hindu extremists. Pamphlets from the ‘National Defence Army’- a Hindu extremist group - were found in the blast site.

“This is a newly emerged Hindu group. In the past too there have been such incidents against Christians which the group was involved,” pointed out Rokaya.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, pamphlets found around the premises suggest involvement of the Hindu extremist group Nepal Defense Army (NDA). The pamphlets found read out the demands of the group which included declaration of a Hindu nation, compulsory Sanskrit education till middle school, and public holidays on Hindu festivals. Nepal Defense Army is the same group that was suspected of killing Father John Prakash principal of Don Bosco Christian school in in Dharan, last year. The 60-year-old Salesian priest who served as the was shot dead by five masked men at his residence.

NDA, which strives to restore Nepal as an exclusive Hindu nation, has been responsible for several bomb blasts across Nepal from the year 2006.

The police have identified the bomb as a low-intensity IED. The bomb was hidden underneath a seat in the prayer hall.

The attack has been condemned by Father Silas Bogati, Pastor of the Assumption Church and Damodar Gautam of World Hindu Federation.

Nepal had been a monarchy throughout most of its history. After it was declared a federal democratic republic in May 28, 2008, the country never witnessed any attack of this sort on churches.

The explosion has come in the backdrop of recent political turmoil and the process of forming new government that began on Friday.

Nepal, according to the 2001 census, has 80.6 percent Hindus, 10.7 percent Buddhists, 4.2 percent Muslims and 0.5 percent Christians.