Nepal police detain woman over church bombing

KATHMANDU (UCAN) June 4, 2009 -- Police have arrested a woman who allegedly planted a bomb at the Assumption Catholic Church on May 23. The blast killed three people and injured several others.

Seeta Thapa Shrestha, 27, who was arrested in Kathmandu on June 2, has confessed to the crime, according to police.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kuber Singh Rana, told media that same day that Thapa confessed to planting the bomb on May 23 and had expressed regret that there were only three casualties.Speaking to UCA News later, Rana said, "Thapa will be charged with murder."

Father Robin Rai, parochial vicar at Assumption church, said that Balan Joseph, father of Celeste Joseph and husband of Buddha Laxmi Joseph, who both died as a result of the blast, has identified Thapa as the woman who left a bag inside the church on May 23.

Soon after she left the church the bomb in the bag exploded, killing Celeste Joseph and another woman, Deepa Patrick, instantly. Celeste's mother died while undergoing treatment in hospital on May 31.

"The woman seemed to take pride in what she did. She didn't have any regrets and appeared to be bold enough to confess to the crime," said Father Rai, who went to see the suspect at the police station.

Kavita Rai, an Assumption church parishioner, told UCA News that she had seen Thapa and her young son attend Mass on Saturdays for more than a month.

According to media reports, Thapa told the police that she was a member of a Hindu group, Hindu Rashtra Bachao Samiti (Society to Save the Hindu Nation), and she was also associated with organizations working for the welfare of women and children in Kathmandu.

The Nepal Defense Army (NDA), an obscure Hindu extremist group, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Media reports suggested Thapa had been "inspired" by the NDA and that she had been willing to become a suicide bomber.

"It is obvious that the Nepal Defense Army was the mastermind of the bombing and further investigations are on-going," Rana said.

The deputy inspector general is heading a high-level task force formed by the Home Ministry to investigate the bombing. He said that security in the Kathmandu valley has been strengthened and that churches have been told to remain vigilant.

"We have been giving tips to church leaders on ways to improve security," he said.

NDA is believed to comprise former soldiers, former policemen and victims of Maoist guerrillas. It claims to have trained suicide bombers to fight communists, Christians and Muslims. The shadowy group's main objective is to restore Nepal as a Hindu nation, it claims.

The Nepali government, formed in 2006 after former King Gyanendra Shah was forced to give up absolute power, had declared the country secular. The Maoists, who led a decade-long insurgency in this Himalayan nation, joined mainstream politics the same year after signing a peace accord with the government.

Since then, several Hindu groups have protested the government's move and demanded that Nepal be declared a Hindu nation again.

Meanwhile, doctors on June 4 said five injured Catholics being treated at two hospitals in Kathmandu are in stable condition.