The rifles were most probably wrest from the security personals by then Maoist rebels during the decade-long armed insurgency in the country, according to the district police. [break]
A joint patrol team of the Jajarkot District Police Office and Rimna Area Police Station had recovered the firearms during a patrol.
Talking on a press meet held at the District Police Office, Deputy Inspector of Police Chakra Bahadur Singh said that the rifles were concealed under foliages.
“Looking at the model of the rifles, we are more or less sure that they were used during the insurgency. Now our first priority is to find those behind it,” said Singh.
Meanwhile, some local residents suspect that the Mohan Baidya led CPN-Maoist could have hidden the rifles to use it in the future as the party had recently declared in the district headquarters, Malangwa, that it does not rule out the possibility of using arms to thwart the upcoming Constituent Assembly election.
“It could be a coincidence or a deliberate act, but there must be some political connection behind the firearm recovery,” said a local.
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