Police arrested 12 employees of the Forest Office on June 14, on allegations that they pushed a tempo with registration number Su.Pa.Pra. 01001 H 3180, which had been used for retail trade, off a cliff. The vehicle belonged to Dhana Devi Dhami, 44, and her husband Ghanshyam Dhami of Baspani, Ward No. 4, Godawari Municipality.
According to DSP Yogendra Timilsina of the District Police Office, Kailali, the victim’s side informed the police on June 13 that Forest Office employees had pushed the tempo off the cliff. The accused were subsequently arrested, and an investigation is ongoing. Since further details of the incident are still pending, the names of the accused have not been made public.
Forest Officer Ram Bichari Thakur of the Division Forest Office, Kailali, stated that notices had been issued to people residing in the area after encroaching on forest land, under the direction of the District Administration Office, Kailali. However, as the encroached area was not vacated, authorities proceeded to clear the area on June 12. According to him, while attempting to remove the tempo parked beside the road, it fell down the cliff.
Officer Thakur further stated that the same tempo had been removed once before, about a month earlier, and that it was no longer an operational passenger vehicle but had become scrap. It had been placed by the roadside at Gaimare Danda along the Bhimdatta Highway, where it was being used as a small shop selling tea, eggs, noodles, water, and other items. The vehicle was removed as part of the operation to clear the encroached area.
Dhana Devi Dhami alleged that Forest Office employees pushed the tempo off the cliff on June 12, while clearing the forest encroachment area at Baspani, Ward No. 4, Godawari Municipality.
She stated that she had not encroached on forest land and had been conducting business there for a long time to support her household. According to her, when the Forest Office team arrived to remove the alleged encroachment, she requested that she would stop doing business there and take the tempo home, but the employees nevertheless pushed it off the cliff.
Videos showing Forest Office employees pushing the tempo toward the cliff circulated widely on social media, prompting criticism from citizens as well as political figures.
Ward Chairperson Hem Prakash Malla of Ward No. 4, Godawari Municipality, said that local people had been encroaching on roadside and forest areas and operating small businesses from temporary structures for the past 15 years. He stated that the Division Forest Office had been trying to clear the area for a long time and had once again attempted to remove the encroachment during this operation.
To investigate the facts of the incident, the Sudurpashchim Province Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests, and Environment formed a five-member committee on June 15.