Alarm bell rings with the transfer of key officers looking into refugee fraud

Five assistant inspector generals (AIGs) of the Nepal Police, including the one in charge of the investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, were transferred on Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting, despite the apparent strong objections of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

Another suggestion regarding the reassignment of six senior superintendents of police (SSPs), who were also in charge of investigations into a number of frauds, including the false refugee case, was also sent by Nepal Police Headquarters to the home minister.

AIG Shyam Gyawali, the chief of the Kathmandu Valley Police Office and the person in charge of the investigation into the refugee scam, has been moved to the operations division of the Nepal Police headquarters, in accordance with a decision made by the Cabinet.

A police investigation is ongoing against a number of leaders, including those from the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, the former home secretary, and some middlemen.

According to a close assistant of DPM Shrestha, Gyawali was being removed from the position due to pressure from Nepali Congress heavyweights, notably party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana. Three times, Shrestha attempted to halt the move by meeting Deuba and his wife.

Due to a strong resistance from DPM Shrestha, the Cabinet made the decision on Tuesday, but the chief secretary didn't confirm it until Friday.

According to a representative from the home ministry, the transfer was made arbitrarily in four months. It appears that certain commanders wanted to remove Gyawali in particular, but four AIGs were transferred instead to quell complaints.

Kuber Kathayat, a spokesman for the Nepal Police, stated that because the Cabinet makes the decision about the transfer of AIGs, the police are unable to comment.

According to Kathayat, the deputy inspector generals and senior superintendents of the Nepal Police are transferred by the home minister. Only the superintendent of the Nepal Police is subject to transfers made by the inspector general.

According to a home ministry official, the decision to transfer AIG was only made public on Friday after being verified by the chief secretary. On the home minister's proposal, the Cabinet typically decides to transfer senior police officers like AIGs. However, the idea in this instance was offered by the prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and it was approved despite DPM Shrestha's vehement opposition, the official said.

Another minister claimed that the prime minister seems to have come under intense pressure to remove some top police officers in charge of the phony Bhutanese refugee scheme from Deuba and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Purna Bahadur Khadka. The transfer of the AIGs was opposed by the prime minister as well, and a plan to that effect had been on hold for 15 days.

Some heavyweights of the ruling party, notably former prime minister Deuba, had pressed DPM Shrestha to replace Gyawali with another AIG, Deepak Thapa. Gyawali will be replaced at the Valley Police Office by Thapa from the administrative division.

Sandeep Bhandari, the department's AIG, will replace Tek Prasad Rai, who has been transferred from the National Police Training Institute to the Human Resource Department.

AIG Meera Chaudhary has been moved from the operations department to the administrative department. The Provincial Coordinating Directorate's AIG Sudeep Giri, the Crime Investigation Department's AIG Tek Bahadur Tamang, and the Central Investigation Bureau's AIG Kiran Bajracharya will all stay in their current roles, though.

According to the official from the home ministry, there may have been some disagreements between Nepal Police IG Basanta Kunwar and AIG Gyawali regarding the probe into the false refugee fraud involving Bhutan.

The Nepal Police headquarters has made a separate proposal to transfer an additional six senior superintendents who are investigating the refugee scam.

The commander of the Kathmandu Valley Police Range, SSP Dan Bahadur Karki, could be moved to the police headquarters, and SSP Bhupendra Khatri is ready to take his place. According to officials in the home ministry, SSP Manoj KC, the head of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Department, has been suggested for the IGP secretariat.