Bajura, March 9

Absence of a police post since long has led to escalation of criminal activities at Bichhya of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district.

A police post was shifted from Yuna of Himali Rural Municipality-3 to Kawadi of Ward No 4 of the same rural municipality eight years ago. Rural municipality Chairperson Govind Bahadur Malla said criminal incidents had risen after the police post was shifted.

“Geographically difficult terrain coupled with lack of access to security had led to spike in criminal incidents in the area,” Malla added. Criminal incidents get covered up as it takes one day to reach the police post, locals said. Since Bichhya village is far from the police post and forest office, poaching and smuggling of wildlife and herbs is rampant.

According to Ward No 3 Chairperson Jaidhan Rokaya of the rural municipality, poaching and smuggling of wildlife has increased at Gumba, Kot, Bamu, Baudichhetra and Sain mountain area. “Poachers enter the forest with arms and smuggle wildlife as locals cannot speak up for security reasons,” Rokaya added. He lamented that their repeated pleas to the local administration had gone unheeded.

Bajura District Police Office said that geographical difficulty had made it hard to deploy police personnel in Bichhya.

Bajura Chief District Officer Ganga Prasad Neupane said efforts were under way to set up a police post at Bichhya. “We have written to the home ministry for the same,” said CDO Neupane.