Miscellaneous
Nepal Police HQ summons SSP Khatri
Nepal Police has summoned Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Khatri, who was stationed at the Tribhuvan International Airport, to the headquarters as investigation into the high profile case of 33 kg gold smuggling intensifies.Nepal Police has summoned Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Khatri, who was stationed at the Tribhuvan International Airport, to the headquarters as investigation into the high profile case of 33 kg gold smuggling intensifies.
NP Spokesperson SSP Thakur Gyawali confirmed the move. Sources at the headquarters said SSP Khatri, the second-in-command of the police unit at the TIA, has been thoroughly interrogated in the case while more officials are under the scanner.
Without police abetting smugglers, it is impossible for anyone to pass the security apparatus with such an amount of gold.
The Central Investigation Bureau of police on January 5 seized 33kg gold, which had passed undetected through the TIA customs.
A CIB team nabbed Gopal Bahadur Shahi, who had boarded an Air Arabia flight from the UAE. Shahi was caught after he had made his way out of the airport.
The case has raised questions over the security situation at the country’s only international airport.
The Customs Department has suspended six officials for “assisting the smugglers”.
Probe committee seeks more time
A committee led by Customs Department Deputy Director General Suman Dahal has sought more time for investigation. Sishir Kumar Dhungana, director general at the department, said they have given the committee two more weeks.
“They are looking into procedural lapses and the stipulated time was over interviewing the officials and airline people,” said Dhungana. The probe team members said they are seeking details of Shahi and his luggage but the Gulf airliner was hesitating to divulge information.
The Customs has idled as many as 29 officials deployed to the airport, suspecting their role in abetting the smuggler. Nine more staffers were ejected from the airport on January 14.