The Dhading District Forest Office (DFO) briefly detained the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Chief Satya Narayan Gami on Wednesday after he refused to cut off the electricity of the houses constructed on encroached properties.

DFO Chief Imanath Paudel said they had held Gami for inquiry after he did not respond to the office’s repeated requests to stop the power supply to the homes built on the properties that were taken over illegally. Gami was released after three hours of questioning. Protesting Gami’s detention, the NEA Dhading office cut off the electricity in the district for 30 minutes. The NEA staff also staged a sit-in outside the District Administration Office. Gami said that he was held up against his will by the people who have no authority whatsoever to detain someone. He also said that he had been instructed by the NEA’s central regional director not to comply with the request of the DAO to render the homes of illegal settlers powerless.