The commission formed to investigate the incidents of 23 and 24 Bhadra has completed the statements of high-ranking officials at the security and administrative levels.

The commission has recorded statements from security personnel deployed in the field, including the Nepal Police Chief, Army Chief, and the then Chief Secretary. Now, only the statements of the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak are left. 

The commission recorded statements from the then Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi, Inspector General (IGP) Dan Bahadur Karki, the then IGP Chandrakuber Khapung, and the then Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Chhabi Rijal on Friday, and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel on Monday. Khapung and Rijal were summoned again on Friday. All of them have given statements that they had to use force under duress on 23 Bhadra. A member of the commission said that they had to open fire to control the situation. 

During the statement, the then District Magistrate Rijal informed that an application had been received from Ankit Malla, Sudhan Gurung, Sabal Gautam and Purushottam Yadav for a protest on 23 Bhadra and that permission had been given by the District Administration Office to peacefully assemble in the Maitighar area and exercise their constitutional rights.

‘Accordingly, the participants of the gathering did not have to go east of the area in front of Everest Hotel, but proceeded towards the Federal Parliament Building,’ Rijal said in the statement. ‘After the vandalism started inside the Parliament Building by breaking the prohibited area, the police were forced to use force to protect government public property, security personnel and weapons.’

According to an official of the commission, Rijal argued that force was used to protect the Parliament Building premises as there are Rastriya Banijya Bank, Law Commission, Investment Board office, and a diesel reserve of about 40,000 liters capacity.

‘The angry group was trying to vandalize and set fire to the entire area of ​​the Parliament building and violently attacked the security personnel, so as the Chief District Officer, I issued a curfew order, but since that too could not control the crowd, there were continuous consultations and discussions with the then Prime Minister, Home Minister and Inspector General of Police on what to do,’ he said in his statement. However, he claims that he did not give the order to open fire. He has given a statement to the Commission that he received a report that the Special Security Force (STF) deployed for the security of the Parliament had opened fire. 

The Commission had questioned the then Home Secretary (currently Secretary of the Planning Commission) Gokarna Mani Duwadi on issues ranging from the Home Ministry to the Security Council. Duwadi said that the District Administration Office had granted permission for a peaceful protest on 23 Bhadra, but the tragic incident occurred after the protesters crossed the prohibited area around 1 pm. He also informed that he was in discussions with the then Chief District Officer, Inspector General of Police and the Home Minister repeatedly regarding the incident. 

Duwadi has also claimed that every effort was made to minimize damage that day. He has claimed that the shooting began after the youth who had taken part in the protest broke the security barricade placed in front of the Everest Hotel and started vandalizing the Parliament building. ‘At that time, all other measures to control the situation had been exhausted,’ Duwadi said in his statement, ‘There was a briefing that the special security force deployed for the security of the Parliament had opened fire unintentionally.’

The then IGP Khapung has also given statements on Friday and Sunday. He has claimed that the shooting began only after the protesters broke the restricted area on 23 Bhadra and started attacking the Parliament building. Regarding the shooting, he has stated that the assessment of the situation in local matters will be done at the local level and only support will be provided from the top level, a commission official said. “There is a district and central security committee for policy guidance, and the order to shoot according to the legal chain of command is also given by the CDO,” the official said, quoting him. “However, no one gives an order to shoot in a way that will cause death. The issue of shooting is determined by the prevailing situation rather than anyone’s instructions.” 

Khapung says that the police are firing in self-defense when it is difficult to save lives. “The police deployed to protect important structures also fire for the same reason. Although everyone takes moral responsibility, only facilitation is provided from the top level.”

Khapung stated that the curfew order was issued on the recommendation of the District Security Committee after the wall of the Parliament building was vandalized and arson was committed to control the situation, in coordination with high-ranking officials. Stating that the protesters became more agitated after the curfew, he said that since it was their responsibility to protect the parliament building from vandalism and arson and to protect the lives of the youth participating in the demonstration, it was a tragic incident even though they exercised as much restraint as possible. 

‘The security personnel who were trying to make the demonstration peaceful had used normal force in a series of ways, but when the situation became uncontrollable and tense, they resorted to firing,’ Khapung said in his statement. ‘On 23 Bhadra, the security forces were instructed to use minimum force. Firing was carried out as a last resort.’ 

The then Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal had reached the commission and given a statement on 4 Mangs. He had said that some protesters had died while maintaining peace and security by protecting public property and lives during the Gen-G demonstration on 23 Bhadra. ‘The Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal is a member of the National Security Council. "Matters beyond that will be handled according to the law, and the Chief Secretary will not be involved in the daily work," he said in the statement. "The Chief Secretary acts as the Secretary to the Council of Ministers and the Head of the Council of Ministers Office on policy matters of the Government of Nepal." 

Speaking to Kantipur, Chief Secretary Aryal said that he went to the commission and informed it about the situation. "I went to the commission and informed the commission about the situation on 23 and 24 Bhadra, how the work was done, how the government was run," he said. "I am not a security person. I shared what I know." 

IGP Dan Bahadur Karki has also given a statement that force was used due to compelling circumstances on 23 Bhadra. "Although the protest on 23 Bhadra was said to be peaceful, the situation of force was forced after the protesters tried to enter and demolish the Parliament building. That force was used under the responsibility of protecting the Parliament building," he said. "We had adopted a policy of using force to minimize damage during the protest. A circular was issued accordingly." Karki was appointed as the Valley Police Chief on 24 Bhadra. Before that, Om Rana was the acting Valley Police Chief.

The commission last recorded the statement of Army Chief Sigdel on Monday. Army Chief Sigdel had reached the commission's office at Singha Durbar along with a team from the secretariat to give the statement. The commission asked him 22 questions. He answered every question in defense of himself and the army, according to a commission official. 

‘We asked why the army did not protect the Singha Durbar and other structures,’ the official said. ‘He said that the army took appropriate steps after assessing the situation at the time as there was a possibility of further human casualties if the physical structures were tried to be protected.’ 

Chief of Army Staff Sigdel said that on 24 Bhadra, when the protesters did not trust other state structures, the military base facilitated the situation to be brought under control. Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet said that the Chief of Army Staff informed the commission about the role played by the army in maintaining peace and order and the steps taken thereafter.

General Secretary of the Federal Parliament Padam Prasad Pandey has also reached the commission and given a statement. The commission had asked Pandey how the Parliament building was attacked. Citing information given by the security personnel deployed at the Parliament, he mentioned that the walls and gates were vandalized on 23 Bhadra itself. He informed that the Parliament building was set on fire at 1 pm on 24 Bhadra. 

Pandey told Kantipur that he went after being called for a statement by the commission and informed them about what he knew. ‘I informed the commission about what happened from the Parliament building to the Parliament Secretariat at Singha Durbar on 23 and 24 Bhadra,’ he said. ‘A little more happened in the incident the next day than on 23 Bhadra.’ 

How will the work be done now? 

The term of the inquiry commission formed on 5 Asoj under the leadership of former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki is less than a week. The commission is yet to take statements. Even after taking statements, it has to write a report. 

Commission spokesperson Vigyanraj Sharma argues that the work was initially carried out within the three-month term, but it took time because more people had to be taken in the meantime. He also informed that the process of entering the political level of statements has begun. Now, preparations are underway to take the statements of the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. The commission has stated that those whose statements were taken earlier will be called again if necessary. 

The commission has said that it will first call the then Home Minister Lekhtar. Since Oli is busy with the UML general convention, the commission is preparing to call him last. Oli, however, is adamant that he will not give a statement to the commission. However, the commission and the government are prepared to make him give a statement even if it means arresting him. The commission has assumed that he will appear since the then Home Minister Lekhtar said that he will decide only after receiving a letter about whether to go for the statement or not.

On the recommendation of the commission itself, the then Prime Minister Oli and the then Home Minister Lekhtar were banned from traveling abroad and going outside the Kathmandu Valley without permission. Since they have followed the decision and stayed in Kathmandu, it is believed that they will appear before the commission, says spokesperson Sharma. ‘The commission is clear. We will write a letter asking them to appear first for the statement,’ he says, ‘We believe that they will come to the commission to give a statement based on the letter. If they do not come, legal proceedings will begin. The commission will write a letter to the government requesting them to be present in accordance with the law.’

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal says that the government is clear about mobilizing the police to make them present if the commission writes a letter. ‘If the commission makes a written request, the government will cooperate,’ Aryal has already told Kantipur, ‘I believe that they will accept the rule of law as it is for everyone. In case they do not, the government will implement the necessary laws.’

The 10-point agreement signed between Gen-G and the government on 24 Mangsir mentions the expansion of the scope of the commission of inquiry. The agreement states that ‘taking into account the principles of investigation, truth-telling and reconciliation, the nature of the people’s movement and the specific circumstances of 23 and 24 Bhadra, the incidents that occurred during the people’s movement and the violent acts that were planned and organized by other individuals or groups with criminal intent will be investigated without prejudice and a report will be submitted.’