KATHMANDU, June 24: The Chitwan National Park (CNP) Office, Kasara, has registered a case against nine people for allegedly buying and selling the horn of the one-horned rhino, a protected wild animal. The case was registered against them on Monday at the Chitwan District Court.
According to a statement issued by the CNP Office, those who have been sued are Sant Bahadur Kumal, 40, of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality-28; Balkumar Rai, 33, of Rapti Municipality-3, Sundar Basti; Dev Bahadur Pariyar, 35, of Bhanunagar, Bardaghat Municipality-8, Nawalparasi, Dhan Bahadur Baaniya, 38 of Kalika-7, Rupandehi; Krishnaraj Pandey Chhetri, 51, of Anand Path, Butwal-11.
Similarly, Kamal Rana, 28, Jaimini Municipality-7,Baglung; Nagendra Thapa, 38, Radkhani, Jaimini Municipality-10, Baglung; Khadka Bahadur Thapa, 36, of Jaimini Municipality-9, Baglung; Kul Bahadur Budhathoki, 47, of Syangja, Nirkot Municipality-9 currently residing in Butwal-4 have also been sued, according to the CNP’s Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.
Rhino horn found inside Chitwan National Park
According to him, they were arrested on the basis of information that one-horned rhino horn was being bought and sold in the Bharatpur-9 area on May 10, 2024.
Tiwari said that among those who have been sued, Sant Bahadur Kumal was arrested when a rhino horn was found with him during a search.
According to Tiwari, one of the defendants, Pankaj Kumal, also known as Sant Bahadur, was imprisoned for eight years on the charge of shooting and injuring a rhino in the past.
He was released six years ago after paying a fine of 50,000.
The case has been filed against them at the district court, demanding action as per Section 26 (5d) of the National Parks and Wildlife Protection Act, 2029.
