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Maoists claim to have captured PM`s ancestral property
Kathmandu, Sept 10: Maoist rebels claimed to have captured the ancestral property of Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa in Dhankuta, far eastern Nepal, and to have hoisted their flag on its roof.
Kathmandu, Sept 10: Maoist rebels claimed to have captured the ancestral property of Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa in Dhankuta, far eastern Nepal, and to have hoisted their flag on its roof.
They are now using the 64-roomed house on the 24-acre
ancestral farmland as an office, Maoist regional secretary
Sudarshan, who like many Nepalese uses only one name, said in
a statement yesterday.
The militants had also halted the sale of the land and had captured the properties of 25 other people, mostly former lawmakers, the statement said without elaborating.
Thapa's house, worth some (USD 394,736), was damaged last year when Maoists set it alight.
Thapa's family could not confirm the rebels' claim.
"We have not received any news on the incident," said Thapa's brother, retired Army Major Harendra Bahadur Thapa.
The rebels have stepped up violence after they withdrew from a seven-month ceasefire and pulled out of peace talks on August 27 because the government refused to set up a special assembly to redraft the constitution.
They have been fighting to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy and to install a Communist Republic since 1996. The insurgency has claimed more than 7,800 lives.
The militants had also halted the sale of the land and had captured the properties of 25 other people, mostly former lawmakers, the statement said without elaborating.
Thapa's house, worth some (USD 394,736), was damaged last year when Maoists set it alight.
Thapa's family could not confirm the rebels' claim.
"We have not received any news on the incident," said Thapa's brother, retired Army Major Harendra Bahadur Thapa.
The rebels have stepped up violence after they withdrew from a seven-month ceasefire and pulled out of peace talks on August 27 because the government refused to set up a special assembly to redraft the constitution.
They have been fighting to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy and to install a Communist Republic since 1996. The insurgency has claimed more than 7,800 lives.
Bureau Report