There has been a minor explosion at the house of a leading businessman, Prabhaker SJB Rana, at Tahachal in Kathmandu early Friday.
According to reports, unidentified persons threw a socket bomb into the compound of Rana early Friday causing minor damages. Nobody was injured in the incident.
A leading businessman and chairman of the Soaltee Hotel Ltd., Rana is believed to be a close confidante of HM King Gyanendra.
Police refused to provide details of the attack at Rana’s house.
Police suspect the Maoist rebels to be responsible for the incident. But a Maoist leader in the Kathmandu valley, Aditya, denied his party’s involvement in the attack, radio reports said Friday.
The Soaltee hotel had been forced to close down for nearly a month in September this year following Maoist threats. The hotel resumed operations after a pro-Maoist trade union withdrew its call for closure of dozens of industries and hotels after reaching into an agreement with the entrepreneurs with the mediation of a group of rights activists. Mr. Rana could not be reached for comments.