DIG Shekhar Khanal Transferred from Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority

Kathmandu. On Asar 19, Home Minister Sudhan Gurung decided to transfer DIG Shekhar Khanal from the Police Division of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Home Minister Gurung decided to transfer DIG Arun Poudel to the CIAA in place of Khanal.

The previous day, the Police Headquarters had decided to recall 17 people, including SPs Mohan Thapa and technical group's Dipesh Joshi, from the Police Division. Five DSPs and ten Inspectors working at the CIAA have been suddenly removed from there.

There is a practice that DSPs and Inspectors deployed at the CIAA are not recalled for two years. This is because they have to investigate various corruption cases, and the practice is to recall them only after completing their tenure. However, this practice has now been broken, and police officers have been transferred before completing two years.

Among those transferred from the CIAA are officers including DSP Umesh Lamsal. Lamsal has been sent to the Madhesh Province Police Office.

Questions have been raised as to why the officers deployed in the important responsibility of investigating corruption and abuse of authority by public office holders were suddenly transferred. There are 990 employees, including civil servants, at the CIAA, but only police officers have been transferred from there.

Police officers working at the CIAA were transferred after a conflict began between the Prime Minister's Secretariat and CIAA officials. It is alleged that the CIAA's Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai and other officials were called to the Prime Minister's Secretariat and 'pressured' regarding irregularities in passport printing.

On Asar 1, after discussions all day at the Prime Minister's Secretariat, the CIAA arrested Passport Department Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal and Information Technology Director Sunil Kumar KC in the evening as per the Prime Minister's team's instructions. Later, accused including Munindra Raj Malla of the German contractor company Veridos were arrested. All of them have been released on bail by the Special Court.

On Asar 7, at the inauguration of the Rastriya Swatantra Party's general convention in Chitwan, Prime Minister Balen Shah admitted to calling CIAA officials to Singha Durbar and said, 'If we investigate past mistakes, if necessary, we will consult the CIAA by keeping them for 5 years, not just 5 hours.'

Previously, only officers capable of investigation were sent to the CIAA. The CIAA used to correspond with the Police Headquarters to send officers screened by the CIAA. However, this time, the headquarters hastily sent officers, a high-ranking official from the Home Ministry told Ratopati.

The Police Headquarters has sent SPs Sudhir Raj Shahi, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, DSPs Siddhraj Neupane, Madhavraj Kharel, Hari Bahadur Basnet, Rupa Labung, and Yuvaraj Bhandari to the CIAA.

According to sources at the Police Headquarters, Inspectors Manoj Kumar Yadav, Raj Kumar Bhatt, Pralhad Silwal, Suraj Khadka, Shriram Bhatt, Devsingh Bhandari, Upendra Bahadur Bam, and Ramkrishna Pathak have been deployed to the CIAA.

Police spokesperson (DIG) Abi Narayan Kafle told Ratopati that the police officers at the CIAA have been transferred as per need. He said, 'The transfer of CIAA officers is a regular transfer.'

Previously, the practice was that DSPs and Inspectors had to stay at the CIAA for two years. The Police Headquarters has broken that practice.

How is investigation conducted at the CIAA?

Officers working at the Commission investigate corruption by public office holders. Only Inspectors and officers above that rank have the authority to investigate.

After the investigating officer completes the investigation of a assigned case, they submit an investigation report with their opinion to the completion committee. The completion committee consists of a team of government lawyers appointed from the Attorney General's Office.

After discussion and revision in that committee, the investigation report with recommendations is submitted to the Commission's meeting. The Commission's meeting decides whether to file a case or send it for archiving. CIAA officials say that the investigation structure has been prepared in such a way that the investigating officer cannot tamper with the responsibility given to them.

Civil servants, Nepal Police, National Investigation, Nepal Rastra Bank, and the Attorney General's Office send employees to the CIAA. Currently, 990 government employees are working at the Commission.

408 police personnel are working at the Commission under the command of a DIG from the Nepal Police. Perimeter security, detention security, PSO, and officer-level police personnel are involved in investigations. The practice is to screen police personnel willing to come to the CIAA based on their experience in investigation and honesty.

Before being transferred from the CIAA, it is customary to complete the responsibilities assigned by the CIAA and inform about it before transferring elsewhere. An official from the CIAA said that this practice was adopted with the objective of ensuring that the investigation of ongoing cases is not adversely affected by arbitrary transfers.

Was the investigation of passport printing done by the police?

DSP Padamraj Thapa went to Singha Durbar to arrest Passport Department Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal and Director Sunil KC. Three joint secretaries led the investigation into passport printing. DSP Padam Thapa was also involved in the investigation, but Thapa has not been transferred. An official from the CIAA said that the officers who have been transferred were not involved in the investigation of passport printing.

Such arbitrary transfers indicate that the relationship between the government and the CIAA is not good. Officials say that the CIAA's work and actions are directly affected by the government's interference and pressure in the transfer of police officers.

Although police officers who have not completed two years have been transferred, civil servants who have been at the CIAA for about 10 years have not been transferred.