The District Forest Office, Dhading, has asked Siddhalek Rural Municipality to hand over the timbers that were seized from smugglers on March 30.Forest officer Imanath Paudel on Monday said the municipal office has ignored the forest office’s notice to submit the seized timbers.

“It has been nearly three weeks now. Siddhalek Rural Municipality is stepping on the forest office’s authority by keeping those timbers,” he said.

Chairman of the rural municipality, Premnath Silwal, said the timbers were recovered from their area, and they have the right to keep them under the Local Government Operation Act. 

“The forest office can file a case if it wants to,” he said, claiming that the municipal office was not breaking any law by refusing to turn in the timbers.

A team led by Dev Bahadur Magar, the ward chair-man of Siddhalek-3, had confiscated the timbers loaded in a Bolero jeep (Na 1 Ja 5590).

Silwal said the timbers were being transported to a furniture factory owned by Nirkamal Thapa at Kamalabari.

Thapa is at large after the incident.