Eight employees arrested for colluding with ‘land mafia’

Ranjha (Banke), March 19. The police have arrested eight government employees on the charge of assisting the land mafia in transferring the public land to individual’s ownership.

The eight employees of the land reform and the land revenue offices in Banke and Bardiya were arrested on Monday night for forging the documents related to government land, chief of the Banke District Police Office, Superintendent of Police Arun Poudel, said.

Those arrested are non-gazetted first class officers Rudra Devkota, Tanka Sharma and Ram Bahadur Khadka, computer operator Yagyashwor Oli and Prem Chand of the Land Revenue Office, Banke and non-gazetted first class officer Krishna Lal Sharma and non-gazetted second class officer Bhumi Raj Pokhrel of the Land Reform and Land Revenue Office, Bardiya.

Similarly, police has arrested Pushpa Shrestha, an officer who has been transferred to the District Post Office Banke from the Land Revenue Office, on the same charge and started investigation.

SP Poudel said preliminary investigation by the police showed that the arrestees transferred the government land in individual’s name. Police said the arrested people have also been suspected of involving in taking people hostage and murder.