JAJARKOT: As many as 580 rounds of bullets were found in a forest in Jajarkot district of mid-western Nepal on Monday.

The huge cache of ammunition was found scattered close to the under-construction Khalanga-Dolpa road in Thaplechaur, near the Jajarkot district headquarters Khalanga.

Locals, who were at the site to observe the road construction process, had informed police after spotting the bullets.

All the bullets were rusted though they appeared to be used in modern guns, according to acting chief of the District Police Office, Police Inspector Hikmat Bohora.

He suspected that the bullets were left behind by the then Maoist combatants during the decade-long armed conflict.

The Maoist guerrillas might have left the bullets while they were running away after attacking some police post in the district headquarters, he added.

It has already been 10 years that the Maoists dropped the wars and joined the peace process.

He said further investigation is underway.

Around two years ago, a huge ammunition including .303 rifles, bullets and explosives were recovered from the Raniban forest of Rimna in the district, which is just 16 kilometres away from the district headquarters.