KATHMANDU, Sept 11: Police have seized 461 LPG cylinders from various locations in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on suspicion of black-market trading and overpricing amid the ongoing cooking gas shortage.
A team from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office confiscated the cylinders during inspections conducted on Thursday after receiving complaints that consumers were being charged prices well above the government-set rate.
Expiry date of LPG cylinders lacks monitoring
According to police, 183 cylinders were seized from Narephat and 189 from Basundhara in Kathmandu. Another 75 cylinders were confiscated from Suryabinayak and 14 from Itachhen in Bhaktapur.
Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Karki of the Valley Crime Investigation Office said LPG cylinders were being sold for as much as Rs 5,400 each in Suryabinayak and Itachhen. In Narephat and Basundhara, prices had reportedly reached Rs 2,500 and Rs 2,600 per cylinder, respectively.
Karki said police have launched an investigation into the alleged black-market trading and overpricing. The seized cylinders have been kept in police custody pending further action.
