The Inspector General of Police has formed a committee led by the Additional Inspector General and sought a report within a month on the loss of life and property, use of force, and strategic weaknesses.
What you should know
The Police Headquarters has formed an internal committee to investigate the loss of life and property caused by the peaceful protest led by the Gen-G generation on 23 Bhadra and the destruction the following day.
Inspector General of Police Chandrakuber Khapung on Tuesday formed a committee under the leadership of Additional Inspector General (AIG) Sushil Singh Rathore, who is also the head of the Criminal Investigation Department. The committee has been given a mandate to conduct a detailed investigation into the use of force by the police on 23 Bhadra against the youth/students who took part in the peaceful protest, human casualties, weaknesses in the use of force, and the destruction the next day and submit a report.
The committee formed under the leadership of Rathore includes DIG Deepak Regmi of the Planning and Investigation Directorate, as well as representatives from the Department of Works, Human Resources Department, Criminal Investigation Department, Administration Department, Forensic Science Laboratory and other units. The committee has been asked to conduct a detailed investigation into the causes of the Gen-G movement, the use of force on the day of the protest, and the destruction the next day and prepare a detailed report. The report has been asked to be submitted within 1 month.
The police have been asked to submit a report giving suggestions on the weapons to be used in the field, operational strategies, use of lethal/non-lethal weapons used in protests/demonstrations, security coordination, etc.
The government has already formed a three-member commission under the leadership of former Special Court President (Judge) Gauri Bahadur Karki to investigate the Gen-G movement and the subsequent destruction and take action against the culprits. The commission is currently continuing its investigation. Meanwhile, the police have also formed an internal investigation committee one and a half months after the incident.
According to information provided by an officer at the Police Headquarters, there was some delay in forming the internal committee due to the time it took for initial reports of damage to come in from across the country. The official said, "A detailed report of the damage has been received. In order to take this as a lesson in the future, a report has been submitted covering the incidents related to the loss of life and property during the Gen-G movement, causes, weaknesses, areas for improvement, security personnel mobilization strategy during the movement, coordination, incident assessment, arrangements, and measures to boost the morale of the security personnel.'
The protest on 23 Bhadra and the destruction the next day caused unimaginable loss of life and property. When the protest turned violent, incidents of vandalism, arson, and looting took place. The destruction that day included the Presidential Palace, the Supreme Court, the Parliament Building, the Prime Minister's Residence, the country's main administrative center, Singha Durbar, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, police barracks and offices, offices of various political parties, leaders' residences, media offices, commercial buildings and establishments, and other government/public, private and commercial structures.
The Gen-G uprising and the destruction the next day left 76 people dead, including 3 police officers, and more than 2,400 injured.
When the protest on 24 Bhadra turned uncontrolled and violent, more than 450 police offices and barracks were vandalized and set on fire. More than 1,200 police weapons were looted during the process.
About 100,000 rounds of ammunition also disappeared from police records during the process. Of the missing items, more than 700 weapons and some ammunition have been recovered by security forces from various locations, but more than 500 weapons and ammunition have yet to be recovered, according to an official at the Police Headquarters.
