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Four bombs defused in
Kathmandu city centre

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The police on Thursday defused four crude bombs planted, along with a handwritten note containing threats to King Gyanendra and Prime Minister G P Koirala, in the Kathmandu city centre.

Officials suspected underground Maoists of having planted the bombs.

The four bombs were found with an electricity connection, drawn from an electric pole on which they were hung, in the New Road Area.

A hand written note recovered from the spot contained warnings against King Gyanendra and Prime Minister G P Koirala.

"We don't think the bombs were meant to explode. It was more as a warning to the administration," a senior Nepali official said.

The bombs are also being seen as a hint of the shape of things to come.

The Maoists have been openly opposing the new king, accusing him of being a pawn of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and being part of a conspiracy to eliminate King Birendra and his family.

In recent times, the Maoists have carried out attacks in Biratnagar, hometown of Prime Minister Koirala, and surrounding areas populated mostly by people of Indian origin, with businessmen bearing the brunt.

"Maoists seem to be trying to take advantage of people's reluctance to accept the inquiry commission report, and the low popular appeal of the new king," said an observer in Kathmandu.

They have called for a bandh on July 12.

To compound the troubles, the political situation continues to be fluid. Prime Minister Koirala is under pressure from the opposition parties to quit.

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