After the curfew order, the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu requested the assistance of the Nepal Army and requested coordination, so I immediately called the Chief of Army Staff twice and requested the necessary assistance and coordination.
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In the statement of the Gauri Bahadur Karki-led inquiry commission formed to investigate the incidents of Bhadra 23 and 24, the then Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi claimed that the government had assumed that the movement would be peaceful and had not taken any written decision regarding its management. However, the Karki Commission has recommended that the then Home Secretary Duwadi be sentenced to three years in prison for negligence.
‘A meeting of the Central Security Committee was held at Singha Durbar, Ministry of Home Affairs, on the evening of Bhadra 22 before the incident. In that meeting, a briefing was received from the heads of security agencies and the Chief District Officer that the youth generation had organized the demonstration and that the organizers had said that it would be peaceful. On that occasion, although the ministry had a policy of not allowing the demonstration to be incited and to exercise restraint, no written decision was taken,’ Duwadi said in the statement, ‘I was not aware at that time about digital platforms like Reddit and Discord that were being used by the Gen-G youth generation.’ Before shutting down social media, I have made it clear that the Ministry of Home Affairs does not have the jurisdiction to decide on the management of the situation that may arise from it and that I have no knowledge of the matter.’
He claimed that on the morning of the 23rd, he attended a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee under the House of Representatives at Singha Durbar and that reporting on activities including protests is usually done by notifying the Ministry’s control, and in some cases, information is also received from the Chief District Officer and heads of security agencies. He claimed that he left the meeting and reached the Ministry after receiving information from the Head of the National Investigation Department around 11:30-12:00 that protesters were breaking the security cordon and entering the Parliament building.
‘As the Chief District Officer has the authority to impose curfew as per Section 6 (a) of the Local Administration Act, 2028, I was informed by the then Chief District Officer of Kathmandu that the curfew had been imposed over the phone, and instructions were given to the security agencies to work in a restrained and legal manner during the implementation of the curfew,’ he said in the statement. ‘After the curfew order, the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu requested the assistance of the Nepal Army and requested for coordination, so I immediately called the Chief of Army Staff twice and requested for necessary assistance and coordination. I had received verbal reports from the heads of the security agencies that a large number of protesters and security personnel were injured during the demonstration.’
