Nepal Police have warned of theft, looting and fraud in areas affected by devastating floods, amid reports of people allegedly stealing valuables from the bodies of flood victims.
The police cautioned that disasters can create conditions for increased theft, looting and fraud, particularly when security personnel are heavily engaged in search-and-rescue operations.
The warning followed the arrest of 29 people in Dhading for allegedly breaking open a vault that had been swept downstream from Rasuwa and upper catchment areas and taking cash from it.
A joint patrol team of the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police reportedly caught the suspects at the site while they were allegedly extracting money from the damaged safe.
In another case, Nepal Police arrested two men for allegedly stealing gold earrings from the body of a woman who had been swept downstream by floods in the Narayani River. The incident came to light after a video of the alleged theft went viral on social media.
The police warning was not linked to any specific incident but came amid a series of reports of valuables being recovered from areas devastated by the floods.
Flash floods triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 devastated towns and villages across northern and central Nepal.
The Bhotekoshi River, flowing south from the Himalayan border region, carried floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, while also damaging hydropower projects.
The disaster has killed more than 1,300 people, while around 5,000 others remain missing.
