The APF has tabled a proposal at the Cabinet, seeking an amendment to the APF Regulations-2015 that would give the security agency the right to arrest suspected law offenders, an authority exclusively held by Nepal Police.   

The committee summoned Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam on Friday and advised him not to take such decisions in a haste because it could cause a dispute between the APF and the Nepal Police. The committee members seriously objected to the proposition, claiming that it has upset the relations between the two security agencies.

Maoist lawmaker Rabindra Pratap Shah, who is a former inspector general of Nepal Police, said if the amendment proposal is endorsed it will create a serious turf war between the Nepal Police and the APF. Minister Gautam claimed that Nepal Police had no reservations about authorising the APF to make arrests. He said the APF will only have the authority to arrest suspected law offenders while the investigating right will be solely with Nepal Police. Once the APF arrests a suspect, Gautam said, s/he would be handed over to Nepal Police.

Panel Chair Dil Bahadur Gharti told Gautam not to go ahead with the decision until the committee has given its final decision.

Meanwhile, the committee also directed the ministry to present the report on the government’s relief works in five mid-western districts affected by floods last year. Gautam has been asked to furnish a report, including the resettlement plan for the displaced families, within five days.