Three held for setting fire in forest

KATHMANDU: Three individuals have been arrested and charged for setting fires in public and private forests in Phidim Municipality 4 and 10 of Panchthar District, according to the District Police Office.

The arrested individuals are Sukmaya Tamang from Phidim Municipality-4, Sujita Khajum from Phidim-10, and Dilu Khajum.

According to the police, Sukmaya Tamang set a fire on April 1 to burn agricultural waste in her field, which spread to the local Singhdevi Community Forest.

Similarly, Sujita and Dilu Khajum also set a fire in their fields to burn leaves and dry twigs on the same day, which then spread to the forest area of Khalangatar Secondary School.

Both fires were controlled by local police, and during the investigation, the individuals admitted to starting the fires.

They were arrested and charged with criminal mischief.

The Panchthar District Court has granted a 5-day detention period for further investigation.

Recently, there has been an increase in forest fires across the district.

On March 4, a fire in the Kummayak-3 area resulted in the death of Pratima Lawati and injuries to five others.

Local authorities have adopted a strategy of detaining individuals first and questioning them later when their involvement in setting fires is confirmed.