National
Recalled SPs told to rejoin duty
The chiefs of Parsa and Siraha police who were recalled by the Nepal Police Headquarters, one over an arrest of a businessman’s family members and the other for investigating Maoist cadres in an abduction case, have been told to rejoin duty.Manish Gautam
The chiefs of Parsa and Siraha police who were recalled by the Nepal Police Headquarters, one over an arrest of a businessman’s family members and the other for investigating Maoist cadres in an abduction case, have been told to rejoin duty.
Parsa district police chief SP Raj Babu Shrestha and Siraha district police chief SP Shyam Gyawali were recalled on Sunday, a move said to be orchestrated by Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi.
A source at Nepal Police Headquarters said SP Shrestha was recalled in connection to the October 2 arrest of the wife and son of Parsa-based trader, Santosh Jain, on charge of operating hundi (illegal money transfer service), and SP Gyawali for investigating 10 Maoist party members in Siraha, including former Peace Minister Bishwo Nath Shah, for abducting a government official.
Home Minister Nidhi had reportedly used his political clout to recall the two officers after they refused his orders to drop the cases.
The source claimed that Nidhi had even asked Inspector General of Police Upendra Kanta Aryal to transfer SP Shrestha and SP Gyawali for defying a minister’s directive.
IGP Aryal, who is currently in the US to attend a conference, was unwilling to recall his men, the source added.
On Tuesday, Additional Inspector General of Police Bigyan Raj Sharma had taken along the two recalled SPs for a meeting with Home Minister Nidhi. However, the minister did not attend the meeting and sent Home Secretary Lok Darsham Regmi in his lieu.
The minister claims that he has nothing to do with the recalling of the two officers.
“I know nothing about this issue. I learnt about it from the media,” he said.
The official version of police is that SP Shrestha and SP Gyawali were asked to report to the headquarters for security situation update in their districts.