National Human Rights Commission Holds Officials Accountable for Human Rights Violations During Janji Protests

Kathmandu. The National Human Rights Commission has identified various security officials as having violated human rights during the Janji protests on August 23 and 24. The investigation report, released by the commission on Wednesday, holds former leadership and various officials from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and National Investigation Department accountable for human rights violations.

According to the commission's report, the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu was not seen in the field. When the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were deployed to the field, the security agencies regularly reported on the security situation and monitored it. During this, the security forces stated that the protesters became violent, they could not manage them, and requested permission to use force. The Chief District Officer then imposed a curfew and ordered the police to fire rubber bullets below the knee.

Following that order, although the police chiefs and other high-ranking officials in charge of crowd control in the field were instructed to use force with discretion, the commission has determined that the security forces used lethal weapons indiscriminately and carelessly.

'In this situation, the officials who used and ordered the use of lethal weapons carelessly are the then Inspector General of Police Chandra Kuber Khapung, then Additional Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, Deputy Inspector General of Police Om Bikram Rana, Senior Superintendent of Police Bishwa Adhikari, then Inspector General of Armed Police Raju Aryal, then Additional Inspector General of Armed Police Narayan Prasad Poudel, Superintendent of Armed Police Jeevan KC, then Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Chhabilal Regmi, as well as the then Chief of the National Investigation Department Hutraj Thapa, who remained inactive by not providing timely analysis and correct information about the protests and security to the government, and then Director of the National Investigation Department Krishna Khanal, and the field commanders of the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and National Investigation Department deployed in the field in Baneshwor and the Parliament building area on Bhadra 23, have been found responsible for human rights violations,' the report states.