October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. The police said that a truck (Na 6 Kha 6219) was impounded from Banepa Municipality-7 along with the sugar during a security check on Thursday.

The sugar was reportedly being supplied by concealing it in the sacks filled with paddy.    
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Kavre Raj Kumar Shrestha told the state-owned RSS that the market value of the sugar confiscated by the police is worth around Rs 600,000.

Likewise, truck driver Raju Timalsina, 27, has also been arrested.    
The police said that the truck and the goods seized during the security check have been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation at Hariharbhawan in Lalitpur for further investigations.

There has been a shortage of sugar in the market during the festive season when the demand is high and the government has failed to import sugar on time. As a result, the price of sugar has been skyrocketing in the market. The price of sugar, which was Rs 95 per kg, has increased to Rs 140 per kg in the retail market.

People in the Terai areas have been relying on smuggled sugar, which costs much less than the current price of sugar available in the market. (With inputs from RSS)