Maoist rebels set off bombs in Nepal

Suspected Maoist rebels set off two powerful bombs in Kathmandu on and shot a policeman today, as their blockade of the Nepali capital to press for the release of jailed guerrillas entered its third day.

No one was seriously injured by the blasts.

Bowing to a key rebel demand, the government agreed hours later to investigate and reveal the whereabouts and conditions of detained guerrilla suspects.

It was not clear if they were also considering freeing guerrillas or removing their “terrorist” label.

Earlier in the day, rebels shot and wounded a policeman guarding the Land Revenue Office in the heart of the capital, then set off a bomb under a staircase at the agency.

People rushed out of the building after the shooting, and the bomb exploded minutes later, witnesses said. Hundreds were there to pay land taxes, transfer land ownership and settle disputes.

“People were screaming and jumping over walls” around the building, said Mukesh Sharma, a lawyer.

Doctors said the policeman was critically injured with head and chest wounds.

Another explosion ripped through an empty police post on the city’s outskirts, along a road linking the Himalayan kingdom with Tibet. No one was hurt.

The bombings came on the third day of a rebel blockade of Kathmandu. The insurgents have not set up a single roadblock, but have cut off the capital from the rest of the country by merely threatening to attack vehicles.