Rautahat, January 6

District Forest Office Rautahat today freed two persons who were earlier arrested with illegal timber.

A police patrol team from Chandranigahapur Area Police Office had arrested Govind Bidari and Indra Prasad Ghimire with two timber-laden bullock carts outside the national forest area in Motiyahi today morning.

Though the DFO staff suspect that the arrested were freed under political pressure, District Forest Officer Bindeshwor Yadav, however, ruled out such a possibility.

It is interesting to note that the timber was being smuggled at the behest of Unified CPN-Maoist cadre Prahlad Paudel.

“The duo was arrested with a huge cache of timber, which they claimed was for firewood for some puja,” said DAO Yadav.

”They were released with empty carts on the condition that they would not repeat such acts,” added officer Yadav.