MoHA forms committee to take action against CIB’s officers

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 25: The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed another committee to take action against the police officers who have been recommended for action on the charge of serious negligence in the investigation of the 61-kg gold smuggling case.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), another committee has been formed for further investigation and action against the then Additional Inspector General (AIG) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) Kiran Bajracharya along with SP Sanjaya Singh Thapa and DSPs Rugam Kunwar and Durga Dahal.

According to Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, a three-member committee has been formed under the coordination of Law Division’s Joint Secretary Bharatmani Rijal of the Ministry. Along with Rijal, Nepal Police DIG Bhim Prasad Dhakal, who is also at the Secretariat of Nepal Police IGP, and Home Ministry’s Police Administration Branch Under Secretary Ram Bahadur Shahi are in the committee.

Spokesperson Bhattarai said that the Rijal-led committee will study the report given by the High-Level Gold Smuggling Investigation Commission and recommend who should be punished as identified by the Commission.

The Commission has recommended that departmental action be taken against four police officers. But the Rijal-led committee will study who should be punished and what their roles were while doing investigation in the 61-kg gold smuggling, said Bhattarai. 

On March 14, the Commission, chaired by former judge Dilliraj Acharya, submitted the report to DPM and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane. In the 485-page long report, it was mentioned that four police officers of the CIB should be transferred by taking departmental action and all the policemen assigned for the investigation should be transferred.

As per the recommendation, all the four officers recommended for departmental action have been removed from their responsibility and transferred to the police headquarters. 

The Commission had pointed out that the officers had made a serious mistake by letting leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara go scot-free since they sent away the person who gave a statement to the CIB.

On July 18, 2023, the government had formed the Commission led by Acharya after the House was blocked demanding the formation of a separate independent commission to investigate the smuggling case of 61-kg gold and nine kg of gold smuggled in electronic cigarettes (Vape) that had passed through the customs of Tribhuvan International Airport.

Based on political party consensus, the government formed a four-member investigation commission on illegal gold smuggling under the chairmanship of Acharya on October 1, 2023

Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, former Joint Secretary of Finance Ministry Kishor Jung Karki and former Joint Secretary of Home Ministry Premraj Joshi were members of the Commission.