IED blast outside former Nepali minister Baskota's under-construction house; no casualties

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off outside an under-construction house belonging to Nepal's former Communication Minister Gokul Prasad Baskota in Bhaktapur district on Wednesday morning.

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off outside an under-construction house belonging to Nepal's former Communication Minister Gokul Prasad Baskota in Bhaktapur district on Wednesday morning. No injuries or casualties were reported in the incident which took place at around 7:45 am (local time) at Lokanthali area of the Bhaktapur district.

The explosive was planted outside one of the gates of the three-storey building. The blast caused damage to a car parked on the premises of the under-constructed house and shattered the window glasses of the surrounding buildings. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. No one was present at the premise of the under-constructed house at the time the incident took place.

It may be noted that Baskota, to whom the house belonged, had resigned from his post of Information, Communication, and Technology minister last month, after an audiotape of him bargaining for a commission of security printing press got leaked. In a nearly-two minute audio clip published online by a local news portal on Wednesday, the minister could be heard bargaining for NPR 700 million in bribe over the procurement of security printing press for the government. (ANI)