Kathmandu, August 26

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) today set up a five-member probe committee to investigate how the deadly incident in Tikapur of Kailali district took place on Monday, where at least seven security forces and one child were killed during a protest organised by Tharuhat supporters.

Home Secretary Surya Silwal told The Himalayan Times that the probe panel under the coordination of former director general of National Investigation Department (NID) Devi Ram Sharma will be getting final endorsement from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bam Dev Gautam tomorrow. Separately, a Cabinet meeting will decide the perks and benefits for members of the committee, he added.

Other members of the body include Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Pratap Singh Thapa, Additional Inspector General of Armed Police Force Jivan Thapa, Director of NID Ganesh Adhikari and Binod KC, joint secretary at MoHA.

Silwal said the panel was given 15 days’ time to come up with a detailed report on how the incident took place, why it happened, who were involved, were there any lapses from the security point of view and what measures should be taken to prevent such incidents.

An emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers yesterday directed DPM Gautam to form a probe panel. Gautam had given the name of ex-chief of NID Sharma as coordinator.

The panel will delve into lapses in coordination between NP and APF. This could be among the reasons for an incident of such scale in which seven servicemen, including SSP Laxman Neupane and two inspectors were brutally killed, according to a MoHA officer.