Biratnagar. A police operation carried out at the residence of Biratnagar-based industrialist Beni Gopal Mundada on Monday has drawn the attention of the private sector. The incident has raised further questions as no illegal material was found during the search conducted by a large number of police.

Acting on a special tip-off, a police team reached the Mundra residence in the morning and conducted a detailed search of the house. A large number of police personnel were mobilized from the District Police Office, Morang, Ward Police Office, Biratnagar and Area Police Office, Rani. More than a dozen police vehicles were used in the operation.

The operation was led by Morang Police Chief SP Kabit Katawal. The team comprised DSP Makendra Kumar Mishra, DSP Santosh Shrestha, DSP Lokendra Singh Guru, Inspector Prabin Ghimire and other police officers.

The police searched the Mundra residence for about four and a half hours. However, when the police team came out of the house at 9:34 am, they said that no suspicious or illegal items were found.

The police team was accompanied by industrialist Beni Gopal Munda and his nephew Prakash Munda, who is also the vice-president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Koshi Province. According to Mundra, the police searched all the rooms of the house, including kitchen, living room, bedroom, drawers and boxes.

“He looked at every part of the house, even opened drawers and boxes. But nothing was found,” Mundra said.

Issuing a press release after the incident, the District Police Office, Morang, said that the search was carried out after completing the legal process based on a special information that illegal goods were being concealed. “During the search, no illegal material was found,” the statement said. However, an investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.

However, the police did not give any specific details about what the information was said to have reached the police, what kind of illegal items were suspected to be in Munda’s house, and why nothing was found even after such a strong operation.

For this reason, the incident has raised many questions in business circles. Representatives of the private sector have complained that such actions by deploying a large number of police without sufficient evidence will create psychological pressure and fear on the businessmen.

Although it is the responsibility of the state to investigate illegal activities, the private sector has been demanding transparency and accountability in such cases, saying that high-profile raids without any concrete results can affect the business environment and investor confidence.