The District Forest Office in Sarlahi has filed a forest encroachment case at the District Court in Malangwa against suspended Bagmati Municipality Mayor Bharat Thapa, Deputy Mayor Leela Kumari Moktan, and four other former officials.

The municipality officials are accused of illegally authorising the construction of private ponds by encroaching on protected forest land belonging to the Sagarnath Forest Development Project.

The case claims a financial loss of Rs1.49 billion, naming former District Coordination Committee chief Mithur Chaudhary, ex-chief administrative officer Bimal Kumar Pokhrel, accounts officer Bishwaraj Pokhrel, and engineer Sagar Paudel as other defendants.

The charge sheet stated that a total of 988.20 hectares of forest land—including 173 hectares used for pond construction and related infrastructure, and an additional 815.20 hectares encroached for agricultural and settlement purposes—was misused under the pretext of developing Bharat Tal and related projects.

Earlier, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed an embezzlement case against Mayor Thapa and other officials at the Special Court on June 11, 2024. The case is sub judice.