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1985 Nepal bombings
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Terrorist attack
March 2018
March 2018
1985 Nepal bombings Nepal Kathmandu Jhapa Pokhara Biratnagar Janakpur Birgunj Mahendranagar Nepalganj Bhairahawa Airport Civilians 20 June 1985 8 Nepal Janabadi Morcha Bombings A series of coordinated bomb blasts occurred on 20 June 1985 in Kathmandu and other cities in Nepal.Bowman, John Stewart. Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. p. 398webindia123. Indian freedom fighters behind Nepal revolution? https://web.archive.org/web/20190528201107/https://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/Asia/20060528/346900.html 28 May 2019 Asia Watch Committee (U.S.). Human Rights Violations in Nepal. New York, NY: Asia Watch Committee, Human Rights Watch, 1989. p. 25 This spate of bomb attacks was the first of its kind in the country. In total, at least eight people (including a Member of Parliament) were killed. Several people were injured.
Kathmandu
In Kathmandu bombs went off at the Royal Palace (southern and western gates), the reception hall of Hotel de l'Annapura (owned by the royal family), at the main gate of the National Panchayat Secretariat and Singh Durbar.
Other parts of the country
Outside of Kathmandu, bombs detonated in Jhapa, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj, Mahendranagar, Nepalganj and at Bhairahawa Airport.
Aftermath
Two exiled groups claimed responsibility for the bombings. One of the groups claiming responsibility was the Nepal Janabadi Morcha of Ram Raja Prasad Singh.Dangol, Sanu Bhai. The Palace in Nepalese Politics: With Special Reference to the Politics of 1951 to 1990. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1999. pp. 128-129
In the aftermath of the bombings mass arrests took place (according to one source some 1,400 people were arrested). Laxman Bisheshwar Mandal and Prem Bahadur Vishwakarma were sentenced to death; Khemraj Bhatta 'Mayalu' was sentenced to life imprisonment.Tripathi, Hari Bansh. Fundamental Rights and Judicial Review in Nepal: (Evolution & Experiments). Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan, 2002. p. 116 Five other NJM leaders were caught and died in custody. The government launched a new strict criminal law in response to the bombings, the Destructive Crimes (Special Control and Punishment) Act. The bombings also prompted the mainstream opposition, the Nepali Congress, to call off its satyagraha (civil disobedience) campaign that had been launched on May 23, 1985.Brown, T. Louise. The Challenge to Democracy in Nepal: A Political History. London: Routledge, 1996. p. 98 At the time, there were persistent rumours that monarchist hardliners could have been involved in the incidents, in order to discredit the ongoing civil opposition campaign.
References
Nepal
Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in Asia
Category:1985 mass murders
Category:1985 crimes in Nepal
Category:20th century in Kathmandu
Category:Terrorist incidents in Nepal
Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1985
Category:History of Nepal (1951–2008)
Category:Building bombings in Asia