Four persons, including a minor, were injured when an improvised explosive device went off at a rally of the Nepali Congress at Bhaladmi Tole in Itahari Sub-metropolitan City-9 on Thursday. One-year-old Yuwan Neupane, Samrina Adhikari, 16, Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, 50, and Gita Acharya, 40, were injured in the explosion. According to police, 13 others, who sustained minor injuries, are receiving care at the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and in Biratnagar. Incidents of blast and attack on candidates and election rallies continue unchecked across the country. On Wednesday, a temporary police recruit injured in an IED blast died in Dang while an NC candidate was among seven people who were seriously hurt in another blast in Udaypur. Relative of NC candidate was involved in the blast. Bhesh Raj Magar,Nephew of NC candidate Bal Bahadur Magar was behind the explosion. He has been arrested by the police. The explosive device was detonated near a corner meeting attended by State Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sumitra Devi Chaudhary at around 11:50 am. Neupane, who was playing near the stage, and Adhikari sustained shrapnel injuries in the temple while Shrestha and Acharya were injured in abdomen and leg, respectively. Security personnel suspected that a timed IED may have been detonated. Nobody has owned up the incident so far. Chief District Officer Gopal Prasad Parajuli said that security will be heightened as assailants even targeted small gatherings and corner meetings. In Mugu, an IED was recovered at the house of NC federal parliament candidate Hasta Bahadur Malla in Chhayanath Rara Muni-cipality-1. A Nepal Army team defused the device later. Meanwhile, an unidentified group torched a vehicle belonging to Ratan Thapa, the left alliance candidate for Kailali Constituency 2 ‘A’. The vehicle, parked at Thapa’s house in Lamkichuha Municipality, was vandalised and torched on Wednesday night, said police. सुनसरीको इटहरीमा नेपाली कांग्रेसको चुनावीसभा लक्षित विष्फोट हुँदा तीन जना घाइते भएका छन् । इटहरी–९, भलादमीचोकमा कांग्रेसको चुनावी सभा भैरहेको ठाउँ नजिकै विष्फोट हुँदा स्थानीय एक वर्षका बालक योवन न्यौपाने, ४० वर्षका धनबहादुर श्रेष्ठ र १६ वर्षकी सम्रिना अधिकारी घाइते भएका प्रहरीले जनाएको छ । घाइतेमध्ये बालक न्यौपानेको अवस्था गम्भीर छ । घाइते सबैजनालाई उपचारको लागि धरानमा रहेको वी.पी. कोइराला स्वास्थ्य विज्ञान प्रतिष्ठानमा लगिएको छ ।