The District Administration Office (DAO), Bardiya, has started probe into a land registration case following the instructions from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), reports said.

The District Land Revenue Office (DLRO) had been trying to register 407 bighas and 14 kathas of land in the name of the influential locals following a directive from the cabinet vice-chairman, Dr Tulsi Giri.

In a notice issued on September 25, the District Land Revenue Office (DLRO) had urged the people to lay claim over the land.

The process came into light after the District Development Committee (DDC) strongly protested the move and warned of launching protest against the decision.

The locals have begun protesting against the attempt made by land mafias to register the public land in their names, report quoted Pramod Bikram Rana, the DDC chairman as saying.

The DLRO chief, Bardiya, Man Bahadur Swar, has been suspended for two months for issuing the notice on September 25, but he claimed that he had followed the directives of the higher authorities.