The government seems to be hell-bent on tightening its grip on the police organization – be it while apportioning budget to combat COVID-19 or creating vacancy in the organization. 

Rameshwor Bohara: Center for Investigative Journalism- Nepal

The government, divulging expenditure details, said it spent Rs 11,983,180,000 from the fund accumulated at the federal level for the prevention and control of coronavirus pandemic. According to the expenditure details, Rs 5,847,994,000 was spent through the federal government while the remaining amount was apportioned through the local government.

If the amount spent through the COVID-19 Fund, established on February 29, 2020, is deducted, the government’s expenditure alone can be put at Rs 4,081,998,000. 

The Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and the Ministry for Urban Development spent the fund. 

Out of the total amount spent by the government, the Ministry of Defense spent Rs 2,370,461,000 which comes around 49.27 percent, almost half of the total expenditure.

If we consider the total expenses made by the federal government, it comes around 40.53 percent. The Ministry of Health and Population has constantly remained on the front line in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It has spent a total of Rs 2,173,640,000. 

How did the Defense Ministry’s expenses exceed that of the Ministry of Health and Population? 

Krishna Gyawali, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, shared that the whole amount was spent through the Nepal Army, the only security agency under the Ministry of Defense, which did not procure more than masks and sanitizers. 

Looking at the other statistics included in the expenditure details unveiled by the government, the Ministry of Home Affairs spent a total of Rs 208,324,000 during this period. All the district administration offices, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force fall within the purview of the Home Ministry. 

The statistic of the budget allocated for the Nepal Police through the Home Ministry is even more dubious. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kuber Kadayat, the spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Nepal Police has received Rs 20,000,000 through the Home Ministry to control the coronavirus. 

“Of the total amount allocated, Rs 15,400,000 was meant for procuring a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine and to establish a laboratory,” said Kadayat, adding, “We procured medical items including sanitizers for the remaining amount of Rs 4,600,000 and delivered to all the police offices across the country.” 

Both the Nepal Army and Nepal Police, undoubtedly, are always on the front line in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The statistics of the budget allocation, however, vividly show how the government is distributing the budget. Brigadier General Santosh Ballav Paudel, the spokesperson for the Nepal Army said the volume of expenditure appeared larger since a substantial portion of the budget was used to procure medical supplies from China under the government to government (G2G) agreement. 

According to the expenditure details made available by the Nepal Army headquarters, a total of Rs 2,342,979,038 has been spent to bring medical goods from China. 

In addition to that, a total of Rs 94,179,521 has been spent to set up Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds at Chhauni-based Birendra Military Hospital, Rs 14,157,899 for the quarantine management for those Nepali people rescued from the Wuhan City of China, and Rs 5,778,189 for the establishment and operation of COVID-19 crisis management center (CCMC). 

When summated (put together), the expenditure made by the Nepal Army can be put at Rs 2,457,074,648, which exceeds the amount unveiled by the Nepal government. Military Spokesperson Paudel said, “It is yet to be calculated since the budget came from both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health and Population. However, the budget was all used up.” 

The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020, and formed the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) on March 29 in a bid to control and prevent the pandemic after the coronavirus cases spiked in the country. 

Prior to this, a High-Level Coordination Committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel had been formed for the control and Prevention of the coronavirus. 

The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) was responsible for this High-Level Coordination Committee and had a mandate to carry out the directions of the Council of Ministers.

Interestingly, the office of the CCMC which started on April 1 was set up at Chhauni-based military barracks.

Civil Administration and institutes are in the front line in those countries that exercise democratic practices when it comes to dealing with natural disasters.

The political leadership is not serious about it. With the Gorkha earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, there had been attempts to entrust the Nepal Army with the task of rescue as well the responsibility of reconstruction. The Nepal Army had lobbied with the political clout for it, too.

It did not, however, succeed due to the stance taken by then Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal. The National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) was created as the government’s main mechanism for national disasters.

Joint Secretaries had been deployed to lead the constituency-level mechanism and secretaries to mobilize the district-level mechanism of the NEOC during the period. The Nepal government had earned appreciation for effectively carrying out the post-disaster rescue and relief works.

A former secretary who was involved in the role of the NEOC says, “The post-disaster rescue and relief works proved effective due to the initiative taken by the civil administration even though the political leadership wanted to hand over the responsibility to the Nepal Army.”

But the importance of this mechanism NEOC was ignored during the coronavirus pandemic. The Nepal Army was assigned with all the resources available to respond to disasters. To the contrary what the government decided, police personnel was deployed in the field. They were the ones whose responsibilities ranged from taking the infected to the hospitals to providing security to the quarantine camps to enforcing lockdown to stem coronavirus in the country. 

Still, they are seen discharging their duties on ordinary cloth masks which constitutes discrimination against them on the ground of personal protective equipment. 

More than 2,000 police personnel have contracted coronavirus in the line of duty due to a lack of minimum safety gear. And, the infection cases among security personnel are ever-increasing. 

Insecurity and fear of coronavirus infections coupled with the fatigue caused by unlimited duty have gripped the security personnel. 

Not enough security gear, no proper arrangement of foods and shelters for us, but those doing time in quarantine are expecting a lot from us,” shared a Superintendent of Police (SP) deployed in a Tarai district, adding, “We are already done for.” 

A senior official at the Nepal Police headquarters says, “We cannot escape duty on the pretext of having no protective gear. People have high expectations from us.” So much so that the police personnel who have been working day and night to prevent and control the coronavirus pandemic have not got a snacks allowance announced by the government even after six months. 

Police Spokesperson SSP Kuber Kadayat said, “Police officials deployed in the front line have not received any types of allowances announced by the government.”

The deep-rooted mindset of the political leadership that no other state agencies can do these sorts of jobs except the Nepal Army has resulted in this situation. 

Former Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal puts, “Politicians count on security forces due to command and discipline. On the other hand, security forces are always looking for opportunities to display their presence. And, it happens when the civil administration fails to enhance its caliber and efficiency.” 

When coronavirus cases spiked in the country, the Nepal Army was given the responsibility of conducting contact-tracing of the infected, collecting swab samples and building and managing quarantine camps arguing that civil servants would dillydally if assigned to. 

Subsequently, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli entrusted the Nepal Army (NA) with the procurement of medical supplies through a cabinet decision. A cabinet meeting on March 29 commissioned the NA to procure medical supplies after the deal signed with the Omni Business Corporate International P. Ltd. (OBCI) courted controversies. 

Even though it was said that the task would be done more efficiently, the hidden intent behind it was that no voices would be raised and the facts would not come out of the agency even if the procurement process was opaque. Further, this affair would fall out of the jurisdiction of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Besides ensuring benefits, the other advantage the political leadership would reap is that the NA would be held accountable in case of faults. 

But, the NA, here, failed to meet the deadline. The NA which was supposed to bring the medical goods within a week could not bring even in a month. The first lot of medical goods arrived only on May 19, 2020. The additional goods arrived only by the second week of June. 

The incidents of irregularities that occurred during the pandemic triggered public outrage. Demonstrations took place in the capital. The NA courted controversy but no investigation was carried out into the case.

The government which turns a blind eye to such colossal irregularities of the NA does not think twice to dismantle the permanent structure of the Nepal Police.

A cabinet meeting held on September 6, 2018, decided to relocate National Police Training Academy from Maharajgunj, Kathmandu to Panauti, Kavre. The reasons behind the relocation of the Central Police Training Center, which was situated at Maharajgunj for the last seven decades, are equally interesting. On May 18, 2018, the government had formed a task-force under the coordination of Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, the secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, to better equip Shital Niwas with amenities. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at a function organized by the Nepal Police Training Academy in February 2019. Photo: Himalkhabar

The government had taken this decision based on the recommendation of the task-force. One of the task-force members had said, “A loud noise often comes through firings when police undergo training. Hence, it is necessary to relocate the Academy to somewhere else.” 

When this decision became public, on November 12, 2018, former Inspector General of Police Khadgajeet Baral wrote on his Facebook, “If it is true, I am sad and stunned.”

“The Central Police Training Center is the main shrine of knowledge which has been providing training to thousands of police officials over the last seven decades. The decision to relocate the historical inheritance of Nepal Police has hurt the feelings of thousands of former and incumbent police officials like me. I would like to call on the concerned authority to immediately rectify this decision as it is wrong and largely short-sighted.” 

Many police officials and civil society activists strongly objected to this decision. Former Home Secretary Shrikanta Regmi described the decision to relocate the training academy as incorrect. Former Additional Inspector General of Police Rajendra Singh Bhandari dubbed this decision as “an act of dismantling the inheritance and history of Nepal Police in the name of amenities.” However, such public outrage fell on deaf ears of the government authorities. 

After some months, on February 12, 2019, Prime Minister Oli, who reached the Academy to address the Convocation Day organized on the completion of Police Inspectors Basic Training 178th Batch, announced to relocate the training center.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Oli accused the critics of trying to grab public attention by passing unethical comments. “Some faultfinders were engaged in passing comments to grab public attention while some passed comments as if President was forcefully evicting them from the Academy.”

How did the idea of relocating the Academy across the Prime Minister’s mind?

“President needs a helipad, why police should stay here? A military official has lobbied with the prime minister saying that a decision has been taken to construct an academy in Kavre,” said a minister, adding, “The Prime Minister did as he was advised.” 

There is enough space for the construction of a helipad inside the compound of the Office of the President. Besides, there is also a space for the helipad in the military barrack (Para Battalion of Nepal Army) next to Shital Niwas. This is very the place where the President boards a helicopter. 

Former DIG Hemanta Malla Thakuri says, “The decision to relocate the Academy has hurt the feelings of each member of Nepal Police. It is an irony that the political leadership itself took this decision.” 

On February 9, 2019, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Kathmandu Narendra Upreti had resigned immediately after the Ministry of Home Affairs decided to recommend 14 SPs for promotion. Upreti in his resignation letter has stated that he could not continue with his job on the moral ground since his one batch junior officials featured in the list for promotion as the reason behind his resignation. This speaks volumes about how the promotional criteria are manipulated by political leadership. 

The monopoly of the Oli-led government in the Nepal Police laid bare on June 12, 2018, when the government decided to promote 28 DSPs to the post of SPs. Achyut Prasad Pudasaini who featured in number 1 in the promotion list was not disputed as he was retiring from the rank of SP itself. 

But the others who were recommended for the promotion had been backed by political power. They had been favored by Prime Minister Oli, Home Secretary Prem Kumar Rai and IGP Sarbendra Khanal. 

Pratap Kumar Gurung who was in the second number on the list was close to Home Secretary Rai. 

Similarly, Sanu Kumar Bhattarai who listed in the fourth number had been serving as the personal security officer (PSO) of the Prime Minister.  

Om Prasad Adhikari had who was listed in the fifth number had been favored by one of the advisors to the Prime Minister.

IGP Sarbendra Khanal’s relatives Bishwomani Pokharel and Shekhar Khanal had been placed in the sixth and seventh positions respectively. 

Reacting to this promotion, both the incumbent and former police officials had remarked it as “unfair, disheartening and largely discriminatory.’’

“Their promotion was not based on the set criteria (merit, qualification, skills, efficiency, seniority, competence) but the recommendation of the political leadership,” said an Additional Inspector General of Police.

From the point of competence, the performance of Somendra Singh Rathore, Bhupendra Bahadur Khatri, Sabin Pradhan, Deep Shumsher JB Rana, Basanta Rajaure, Ramesh Basnet were excellent. 

Unfortunately, Rathore and Pradhan were placed in the 9th and 11th position in the list of promotion. Similarly, Khatri was placed in the 14th position, Rana in the 19th and Rajaure in the 26th position while Basnet did not feature in the list of promotions.  

This was the time when the police personnel took to social networking sites, venting their grievances against their leadership in an unprecedented manner. “Qualified and competent police officials lagged in the promotion,” said complained former DIG Hemanta Malla, adding, “It has had an impact on the entire Nepal Police. Should not the political leadership be held accountable for it?” 

The Nirmala rape-murder case of July 28, 2018, in Kanchanpur has not only made a mockery of the Nepal Police but the entire state mechanism and the government. Failure to bring the culprit to justice even two years after the heinous crime has questioned the credibility and efficiency of the Nepali Police. 

However, this situation had not come as a bolt from the blue. On July 30, 2020, District Court, Kanchanpur gave a clean chit to all the police officers accused in the Nirmala case. It has caused irreparable damage to the Nepal Police. 

It has backed off from investigating the case presuming that it would impact entire the rank and file of the agency. 

Likewise, there is another 33.5 kg gold scam that has seriously weakened at the very of the Nepal Army, tarnishing its image. 

Then Metropolitan Police Crime Division Chief SP Dibesh Lohani, DSP Prajit KC, and Sanjaya Raut who had been entrusted to arrest the mastermind behind the 33.5-kg gold scam Chudamani Upreti (Gore) were eventually arrested. 

A probe committee led by Under-Secretary at the Home Ministry Ishwor Raj Paudel on May 2, 2018, arrested Lohani. Then a case was filed against as many as 63 individuals including Lohani at District Court, Morang.

Lohani filed an appeal at the Biratnagar High Court after being remanded in custody for a trial by the court. He was later released after the High Court on September 29, 2018, issued an order to release him. He was reinstated.  

Former police officers openly objected to the arrest of Lohani who had earned an image of a security officer who never compromised with professionalism. 

It courted criticisms from all quarters. The Prime Minister who vowed to discover the network of the gold smuggling failed to keep promises. The government’s attempt to track down the network of gold racketeering led to nowhere, rather the security officer deployed to nab the culprit ended in jail. 

Former DIG Hemanta Malla Thakuri says, “The most shocking thing is those police officers failed to dare investigate criminal cases following this case. 

Police officers are no longer seen proactive rather they tend to develop an attitude to refrain from investigating criminal cases for the fear of ending in jail. “Who will investigate the case by putting one’s life at risk he/she will have to end in jail?”

Former Home Secretary Govinda Prasad Kusum says types of policies and decisions to be taken for the mobilization of security agencies should not hurt the morale of the security officials. “The leadership should be well aware of the future repercussions it would have on the security agencies,” said Kusum, adding, “To achieve the desired result, it is necessary to keep the morale of security officials always high.”  

The Home Ministry on April 11, 2020, recommended 10 Senior Superintendents of Police for the post of Deputy Inspector General of Police. The decision of promotion lingered longer since the government was planning to make promotions only after brining the current 26 posts of DIGs (except technical) down to 14. Four DIGs had already been appointed. 

Following the reduction in the number of DIGs without surveying the organization and management, SSPs who were awaiting their promotion faced a major setback in their career. Most of them were forced to retire as SSPs. Twenty-two SSPs could get promoted to the post of DIGs if the posts had not been curtailed. 

The number of posts of DIGs had been curtailed not in line with the existing law but at the whim of the political leadership. 

The government which has drawn flaks by impulsively curtailing the posts is mulling to create posts at a high level of the Nepal Army. 

Officers at the NA headquarters are making every effort to create three additional posts of Lieutenant Generals in the Nepal Army following green signals from the Prime Minister. Currently, there two posts of three-star Lieutenant Generals in the NA. 

The effort to create posts for Lieutenant Generals in the NA is not a new case. The initiation had been taken to this effect even during the tenure of Chhatra Man Singh Gurung and Gaurav Shumsher JB Rana as the Chief of Army Staff. The effort, however, did not materialize as it would impact the roll order of the future CoAS. 

Speaking at a program held at the NA headquarters on the third anniversary of his three-year tenure on September 9, incumbent CoAS Purna Chandra Thapa had strongly advocated this issue – three regions one command.

It means the entire nation would be divided into three regions from the point of military and create four chains of commands including the Kathmandu Valley. 

Commenting on this issue, a former major general says, “Its main objective to add the posts of Lieutenant Generals irrespective of the discourse going on.”  

On July 8, 2020, during his farewell ceremony organized at the Nepal Police headquarters, former IGP Thakur Prasad Gyawali, had remarked that the power center is doing monopoly by weakening the Nepal Police. 

Gyawali further commented that the power center, which does not want to see the Nepal Army strong and well organized, has taken advantage of the retirement of highly experienced and efficient police officers. A large number of police officers were deprived of promotion due to the lack of a scientific career development system, according to Gyawali, referring to the government. 

“The power, which does not want to see the Nepal Police united and consolidated, is always bent on exercising power by putting the security agency in the state of indecision,” stated Gyawali, adding, “Imagine how the situation of the organization is where the staffers are always placed in doldrums when it comes to transfer, promotion, deputation, and training.” 

Gyawali, who wanted to keep the Nepal Police free from the political intervention, took charge as the head of the Nepal Police for five months. 

Gyawali said he was denied pay a visit to the Prime Minister due to his stance to keep the Nepal Army from political interference. “I was able to stop the interference from the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Gyawali had shared it with his close subordinates. “When this issue reached the Prime Minister, I was denied entry into Baluwatar.” 

There is a fixed time for the appointment between the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff. The meeting between the Prime Minister and the CoAS is held on the third Sunday of every month. 

On the contrary, IGPs are not allowed to meet the Prime Minister despite several requests. 

“Had the Prime Minister listened to the words of IGP, the Nepal Pollice would not have faced this situation,” said a senior police officer at the police headquarters. 

Intention of interference

In fact, the government did not interfere in the appointment of the previous IGP as the government seemed to make the organization more professional and independent. The situation this time looked favorable as unlike previous years, nobody moved the court.

The two contesting AIGs even publicly expressed their sincerity, saying that whoever became IGP would be accepted. It would, in fact, make no difference, whoever the government chose for the next IGP among the two candidates.

That is why the government garnered praise from the public by appointing Shailesh Thapa Chhetri as the IGP.

However, on the other hand, this piece of good news shattered in a few days after the appointment as the government manipulated in the promotion of the AIGs.

Newly-appointed IGP Chhetri even reached Baluwatar, which was reportedly involved in the game, to express his dissatisfaction with the government’s move.

Unable to endure to IGP’s stance, the government was reluctant to play foul.

And, the government promoted a promising candidate to AIG. Says a source at the Police Headquarters: “If the IGP had not taken his stand, it would have been certain that other promising AIGs like Pradyumna Karki would have been replaced by other AIGs.”

The police organization had regarded Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as their guardian. Reason: The impression of a guardianship that Oli had given during 2051 BS as the then Home Minister was still intact within the police organization.

Former police officers during that period labeled Oli’s leadership as a period sans political interference.

The question now is: Why has the Prime Minister’s attitude towards the Nepal Police changed? There is often an open secret in the concept of security: The role of the army is minimum in a country where they do not have to engage in wars, and where police are capable.

“Maybe he started to enjoy within the rings of the army,” says a former IGP. “In a country like ours, if the police are strong and efficient, the army has literally no role to play. Maybe the Prime Minister got lost in this perception. ”

Prime Minister Oli’s Press Adviser Surya Thapa says since the army and the police are different organizations, it is obvious that everything — from the budget should be different. “There is no question of neglecting or discriminating against anyone,” he said adding, “It all depends how the constitution has defined the role of the organizations.”