Nepal Police have warned people against keeping, selling or distributing valuables recovered from flood-hit areas, urging them to hand over such items to the authorities.
The warning came days after 29 people were arrested in Dhading for allegedly breaking open a vault that had been swept downstream from Rasuwa and the upper catchment areas and taking cash from it. The disaster has killed more than 1,300 people, while around 5,000 remain missing. The police also cautioned that disasters can create conditions for increased theft, looting and fraud as security personnel remain engaged in search-and-rescue operations. A joint patrol team of the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police reportedly caught the suspects at the site while they were allegedly extracting money from the damaged safe. In another case, Nepal Police arrested two men for allegedly stealing gold earrings from the body of a woman who was swept downstream by floods in the Narayani River. The incident came to light after a video of it went viral on social media. The police warning was not linked to any specific incident but came amid a series of reports of valuables being recovered from areas devastated by the floods.
In a statement issued on Sunday, police said using, concealing, buying or selling valuables found during the floods could constitute an offence and invite legal action.