Jaluke, May 15:

Danfe Community Forest Users’ Group based in Arghakhanchi district allegedly abducted chairman and secretary of Pyuthan district-based Daderi forest users’ group two days ago.

The Danfe group resorted to abduction following a dispute over sharing of resources of a forest located on the Arghakhanchi-Pyuthan border.

The two are still in the custody of the abductors.

Talking to this daily, Bhanubhakta Bhushal, chairman of the Daderi group, said chairman of the Danfe group and a dozen cadres of the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League abducted and beat him at 4:00 pm yesterday. Another abductee and secretary of the Daderi group Govinda Acharya accused YCL cadres of threatening to kill him if he failed to cough up Rs 1.5 lakh as donation. “I almost died while the abductors made me cross the Rapti river,” Acharya said.

Acharya and Bhusal said they were kidnapped after they forced smugglers to abandon felled trees. A nine-member police team headed by sub-inspector at the police post at Dhungegadhi Dayaram Giri has been assigned to investigate the incident.

President of the Danfe community forest users’ group Ruk Bahadur Ale said the dispute over the use of the community forest lying on the border of the two districts has been running for five years. He denied that the YCL was involved in the incident.