Internal clean-up top priority, says Nepal Police

Kathmandu, October 31

Senior Superintendent of Police Uttam Raj Subedi, Nepal Police spokesperson, said the police department had attached high priority to ‘internal clean-up’ to purge the law enforcement agency of corrupt cops.

SSP Subedi, who was recently appointed NP spokesperson, said so at an interaction programme with journalists at Nepal Police headquarters, Naxal, today.

Responding to the journalists’ query about involvement of police personnel in some criminal activities, SSP Subedi said it was inappropriate to tarnish the image of the entire organisation for the wrongdoings of a few cops.

“The administration itself cannot be wrong. People must believe that the police are there for their security,” he added.

Nepal Police also requested the media to support them on a recently launched Community-Police Partnership programme.

The programme aims to create peaceful and secure society. Spokesperson Subedi said 10,000 police personnel would be deployed for the programme.

Durbar Marg police refusing to register an First Informatnio Report  from a gang rape victim on January 25, police’s failure to conclude investigation into the March 2, 2017 murder of Sanam Shakya and disappearance of 33 kilograms smuggled gold, police staging a ‘fake encounter’ to gun down two alleged kidnappers and murderers of an 11-year-old boy in Bhaktapur on August 6, failure to find those involve in the murder of former Nepali ambassador to France Keshab Raj Jha,79, are a few incidents which have raised questions on the efficacy and transparency of the security agency.

Nepal Police has been severely criticised for its failure to find out the culprit(s) of the rape and murder of 13-year old Nirmala Panta. This has also sparked nationwide protests across the country.

According to police, 38 per cent of people arrested for different criminal activities in 2017/18 were between 16 and 25 years of age, 30  per cent between the ages of 26 and 35 years and two per cent  below the age of 16 years. Similarly, of the total victims of rape, 64 per cent were below the age of 16 years.