Home Minister Gurung refused to understand the committee's report, Prime Minister Shah did not give any time
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
The report of the committee formed to study the recommendations for action taken against security personnel by the Commission of Inquiry on Bhadra 23 and 24 has been delayed. The committee officials had met Home Minister Sudhan Gurung on Asad 25 and tried to submit the report. But he replied that he would submit it to Prime Minister Balendra Shah. After that, the committee did not get time when they tried to submit the report to the Prime Minister.
According to an official of the Home Ministry, a team including committee coordinator Premraj Karki had reached the Home Ministry to submit the report. After that, a discussion was held with high officials of the ministry including Home Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha. During that, Home Minister Gurung had said that he would not immediately understand the report and would rather talk to the Prime Minister. “He had said that he would arrange a time with the Prime Minister to submit the report, but after that there was no news,” the official said.
The deadline for the committee to study and submit the report expired on Asad 22. Home Ministry Joint Spokesperson Rama Acharya said that she had no information regarding the committee’s submission of the report. "I have no information about the report, it will have to be understood by the Prime Minister's Office or the committee," she told Kantipur.
According to a member of the committee, a report of at least 75 pages has been prepared, concluding that there is no basis for criminal action against the police personnel deployed in the Gen-G movement. The committee has recommended departmental action against the concerned police personnel, citing various grounds. He informed that the home leadership has also been 'briefed' about the report. "The Prime Minister may not have had time to understand the report due to his busy schedule," he said.
The inquiry commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki had concluded that no initiative was taken to stop the clashes between protesters and security forces for four hours before the curfew was imposed on 23 Bhadra. That is why the commission recommended that the then leadership of the security apparatus take criminal action. The then Chief of Nepal Police, Chandrakuber Khapung, was recommended to be prosecuted for two offenses: ‘negligent homicide’ and ‘negligent homicide’.
According to a member of the committee, a report of at least 75 pages has been prepared, concluding that there is no basis for criminal prosecution of the police personnel deployed in the Gen-G movement. The committee has recommended departmental action against the concerned police personnel, citing various grounds. The then Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi, the then Inspector General of the Armed Police Force Raju Aryal, the then Chief of the National Investigation Department Hutraj Thapa, and the then Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Chhabilal Rijal were recommended to be prosecuted for the offense of ‘negligent homicide’ under Section 182 of the Criminal Code.
The first cabinet meeting held after the formation of the government led by Balendra Shah in the House of Representatives elections on 21 Falgun had decided to implement the report of the Karki-led Commission of Inquiry. The next morning, when former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested, the action taken by the security personnel was put on hold. It was decided to form a separate committee to study the recommendations made in the case of the security personnel.
The Council of Ministers had formed a three-member committee on 2 Baisakh under the coordination of former High Court judge Prem Raj Karki. The committee included former AIG of Nepal Police Tek Prasad Rai and former AIG of Armed Police Force Subodh Adhikari. The committee has prepared a report with the conclusion that there is no basis or evidence to take criminal action against the security personnel.
According to a member of the committee, the report states that the officer who fired the shot at the scene could not be identified, and the weapon used to fire the shot could not be determined. The report states that there was no ballistic examination of the bullet and that the scene was cleared only on 25 Bhadra, which means there is no basis to take the case to the criminal prosecution process. ‘In terms of who fired the shots, it should have been revealed through the statements of the employees deployed in the field at the lower level, but that has not happened,’ a member of the committee said, citing the conclusion in the report. ‘It does not seem that this issue can be covered under criminal liability given various grounds and reasons.’
The committee has recommended departmental action, saying that security personnel should be held responsible in some matters. ‘There are many weaknesses in the police command, and we have written in the report that action should be taken in accordance with the Police Act on that matter,’ an official in the committee said. ‘We have also mentioned what action should be taken in terms of the use of force.’ The report concludes that security personnel lack crowd control training and suggests that they should also arrange training on human rights.
The report concludes that the police’s failure to assess whether the protest would become chaotic or uncontrolled was a weakness. It has also been said that departmental action should be taken in the matter of not having strong barricades and water fountains. ‘There does not seem to be good coordination among the officers deployed in the field,’ said a member of the committee. ‘It seems that departmental action should be taken to prevent such issues from recurring in the future.’
According to the member, the report also analyzes how a large number of protesters lost their lives. Before preparing the report, the committee had held discussions with the then Valley Police Chief and current Police Chief Dan Bahadur Karki, former Police Chief Khapung, former Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, the Nepal Police Former Organization Chief Forum, and the Nepal Former Armed Police Association. The committee also held discussions with officials from the Home and Law Ministries. According to the members of the commission, on 23 Bhadra, detailed discussions were held with the security officials on the psychology of the crowd, the equipment available to the security mechanism to control the crowd, and the status of trained manpower. ‘We were not responsible for taking statements, we have studied the old statements and discussed them further with some,’ said a member of the committee. ‘We have also included that in the report.’
Most of the officials who were initially consulted by the committee said that criminal charges against security personnel in the line of duty would be a serious matter. ‘It has come to our attention that if it is a professional mistake, it will not be a criminal charge but a matter of action under the Police Act and the Civil Service Act,’ the committee member said. ‘We have also studied the actions taken after security personnel used force in protests in other countries. We have also included different perspectives in the report.’
During the study, the commission officials also viewed CCTV footage and other details of the time of the incident. ‘The issue of repression has long been raised, we have included the perspective of how that situation came about in the report,’ said a committee source.
