A series of blasts rocked the southern town of Rajbiraj, Saptari district, where the Nepali Congress (NC) was organising a mass meeting, Sunday afternoon.

Eight explosions took place simultaneously outside Raj Stadium, where senior NC leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was attending a mass gathering organised by the party’s trade union. At least 11 people including a policeman were injured in the blast, reports said.

The injured persons have been undergoing treatment at the Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital, Rajbiraj.

Apparently, the explosions were intended to terrorise those participating in the mass meeting.

Altogether 51 suspected of involved in the blast attacks have been arrested.

Even after the blasts, the mass meeting continued inside the stadium. Addressing the programme, Deuba said that bombings and threats would not deter the forthcoming constituent assembly polls.

Security has been massively beefed up in Rajbiraj after the blasts.

On Saturday, an armed outfit called Madhesi Mukti Tigers had detonated a bomb in Inaruwa, Sunsari district, when Deuba was attending a mass meeting organised by the NC there. nepalnews.com mk/ia Feb 03 08