Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa briefing the parliament about Sunday's series of explosions on Monday had said CPN led by Netra Bikram Chand has four companies of combatants.
But neither of Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and National Investigation Department has officially confirmed Thapa's claims.
"We do not have any information about that," Nepal Police Spokesperson DIG Bishwo Raj Pokharel said.
If what Minister Thapa claims is true, the Maoists have a total of around 600 combatants with a company including 150. Chand is developing the military wing in the style of the Maoists during the decade-long insurgency.
Each company has a five-strong headquarter including company commander and vice commander and three platoon commanders. There are nine sections in each company with a section having 9, 11, 13, 15 or 16 combatants.
"We believe Chand has 600 combatants at the rate of 150 in each company," a top security source told Setopati.
Minister Thapa gave the data on the basis of information acquired by the Central Security Committee, according to the source. The Defense Ministry has said the data has not gone to the ministry from National Security Council.
"The council's meeting has not been held for a long time. The data given by Home Minister Thapa in the parliament may well have been received the information from other sources," a Defense Ministry official said. He himself may well have received the information from different sources due to his Maoist background and involvement in the conflict, according to the official.
The Home Ministry refused to speak about the source of Minister Thapa's data.
The Nepal Army confirmed that Chand has formed military structure but refused to divulge the details about the structure and strength. "Series of incidents show Chand has military structure. But we cannot divulge details about that as it is an issue of national security," NA Spokesperson Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey told Setopati.
Chand currently has formed companies, platoons and squads of combatants.
The then Maoists led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal also had formed similar structures at the start of insurgency. "Companies cannot operate in cities. Smaller units are formed for activities in urban areas Two to three persons seem to be involved in the recent series of bombings," a former Maoist commander told Setopati.
Security sources seem to agree that Chand does not have many trained combatants apart from a few former Maoist combatants and disqualified ones.
But the NA seems to be taking the military threat of Chand-led CPN seriously. "We should not take them lightly considering their current military structure and the plans for expansion," an NA source confided. "The party's activities do not seem to be affected despite many leaders being arrested recently. They also do not seem to want to come for dialogue."
