Kathmandu: Even as Nepal grapples with its severest natural crisis since the 2015 earthquake, vultures of the unwinged kind have emerged to feed on the spoils.
A day after authorities picked up two persons for removing gold ornaments from a woman’s corpse, the police have detained 29 people for allegedly breaking open a cash safe and fleeing with the money inside.
The cash safe was reportedly carried away by floodwaters in the Bhote Koshi River in the Rasuwa district. It was found along the Trishuli River in Galchhi Rural Municipality-4 in Dhading, according to NDTV.
They were informed that locals broke open the safe and made off with the money inside, the police said. A police team was immediately sent to the site and a probe was initiated.
A preliminary investigation led to the detention of 29 people along with the recovery of Rs 92,68,505 in cash from their possession, investigators said, as reported by News18.
The police are now probing the origin of the safe and examining whether there are additional suspects involved.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the devastating floods in Nepal that tore through several villages along the Tibetan border on Wednesday has risen to 626, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Soon after the country made a U-turn on its earlier decision and allowed foreign rescue teams to carry out specialised operations, an 11-member team from India reached Nepal on Saturday to assist local authorities in the search-and-rescue efforts.
Nepal’s president Ram Chandra Paudel thanked President Droupadi Murmu for India’s support and concern regarding the flooding situation along the border with Tibet.
“On behalf of the Government and the people of Nepal, I extend our deepest gratitude to Your Excellency Smt Droupadi Murmu for your kind concern and also for the generous support and solidarity extended by your government following the recent calamity in Nepal,” Paudel posted on X.
He also offered condolences, expressing grief over the deaths of Indian nationals in the flooding.
“We also offer our heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Government and the people of India for the tragic loss of Indian lives in the disaster of August 26, 2026”, he said.