The local administration in Achham has heightened security in the district, especially in remote areas, against possible criminal activities of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).

The District Police Office said security personnel have been mobilised in remote regions of the district to check and stop any criminal activities of the Chand outfit.

“Security personnel in civvies have also been deployed across the district to collect information about the outfit. Suspicious people are kept under surveillance,” said a police officer.

Police have already detained some CPN activists for investigation.

Of late, the Chand activists have intensified their extortion drive in Achham. Police say they have been demanding “donations” from local units and resorting to vandalism and arson if they are not paid.

A security source said the district’s security committee had recently prepared a security strategy to curb the activities of the CPN.

“Various security teams have been kept on high alert to deal with any untoward events that could jeopardise law and order,” the source said.

The banned political outfit has been active mainly in the areas that border with Kalikot, Doti and Surkhet districts.

Dhakari, Turmakhand and Ramaroshan rural municipalities are believed to be the strongholds of the CPN. Security patrollings are being carried out focusing these areas.

“We are coordinating with the people’s representatives and local leaders of various political parties to curb the Chand outfit,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Janak Bahadur Shahi.

Earlier last month, a group of unidentified people had set two ward offices in Dhakari and Panchadebal Binayak municipalities in the district on fire while an Improvised Explosive Device was detonated at the liaison office of the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project.

In May, a vehicle belonging to the mayor of Mangalsain Municipality was torched. Police suspect the involvement of the Chand party members in all these attacks.

At least 19 CNP activists have been arrested from different parts of the district in the past five months.

In a bid to defuse the threat posed by the party, police have also intensified their search operation in the neighbouring districts of Kalikot and Rukum (West).