Police in Dhading detain 29 people over cash allegedly taken from a bank safe swept away by floodwaters, as the disaster’s death toll rises above 600.
Police in Nepal have detained 29 people and recovered more than NPR 92.68 lakh in cash in connection with the alleged looting of a bank safe that was swept away by the country’s recent floods.
According to Nepal Police, the safe had been carried off by floodwaters from the Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa district and was later found along the banks of the Trishuli River near Belkhukhola, in Galchhi Rural Municipality of Dhading district. Authorities were alerted after receiving information that local residents had broken the safe open and taken the money inside. A police team was dispatched to the site, and during the initial investigation officers detained 29 individuals and recovered NPR 92,68,505 from their possession.
Most of those detained are residents of Mastar in Galchhi-4, according to police, while some are from Adamghat in Galchhi-6 and Adamtar in Siddhalek-7. Others were originally from the Chitwan and Parsa areas but were living in Dhading at the time. Police said they are examining the origin of the cash and investigating whether more people were involved. The case remains under investigation, and those detained are accused rather than convicted.
In a separate case, two people were arrested after a video allegedly showed them removing gold earrings from the body of a woman who had been swept away by floodwaters in the Narayani River. The footage circulated on social media and prompted police action.
Nepal flood death toll and rescue operations
The alleged looting followed one of Nepal’s worst recent flood disasters. A flash flood came down the Bhotekoshi from the Tibetan side into Rasuwa district on the morning of Wednesday, August 26, sending a surge of water and debris through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems. It swept away homes, bridges, roads, and hydropower infrastructure, and destroyed the Rasuwagadhi border crossing that links Nepal and China.
According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the confirmed death toll had reached 626 as of the morning of Saturday, August 29, with hundreds of people still reported missing. Later police bulletins put the toll higher as recovery work continued. The bodies of victims were carried far downstream, with the highest number, 233, recovered in Chitwan, followed by 158 in Nawalparasi East and smaller numbers across Gorkha, Nawalparasi West, Dhading, Nuwakot, Tanahun, and Rasuwa.
Search and rescue operations have continued across the affected districts, with police coordinating with residents and other agencies to locate missing people and assist those stranded. Authorities have been moving families from high-risk areas to safer locations and clearing roads blocked by debris and landslides to reopen access for relief operations. Damage to roads and bridges has slowed efforts to reach some of the worst-hit areas, and the floods have disrupted electricity supply from hydropower projects in the region.
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