Police on Tuesday arrested Rajesh Raya, the mayor of Kalaiya Sub-Metropolitan City in Bara district, on charge of selling substandard lentils from his store to be distributed as part of food relief for the families affected by the ongoing lockdown.

Raya was detained as per the statements recorded by eight persons who were held earlier in the same case, Superintendent of Police Krishna Pangeni said.

On Saturday, police had sealed the grocery store run by Raya and sent the sample of the lentils collected from the store to the Regional Food Technology and Quality Control Office in Hetauda for a test.
Raya was taken in custody after the laboratory test of the sample confirmed that the lentils were of substandard quality.

Before this, police had detained the chairpersons of wards 1, 7, 11, 13 and 26, secretary of ward 20; two staff working at Raya’s store and a mill operator based in Birgunj.
Following repeated complaints from the locals, the security personnel had raided Raya’s store and seized around 3.2 tonnes of lentils.
Raya had allegedly forced the ward chiefs to purchase the lentils from his store for the municipal relief programme .