KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court today gave clean chits to Home Secretary Dr Govinda Kusum and Inspector General of Nepal Police Ramesh Chand Thakuri on contempt of court charges.

The apex court had initiated action against them for allegedly hiding two detainees Nandu Giri and Deve Bikram Shah, residents of Khungri and Rolpa district. The detainees were found during a judicial search in Pyuthan District Police custody and released on March 19.

Some plainclothesmen had arrested Giri from nearby B & B Hospital, Lalitpur and Shah from Sanepa Height and airlifted them to Pyuthan on March 3.

A division bench of Justices Tahir Ali Ansari and Rana Bahadur Bam issued clean chits to the defendants. The bench also gave clean chits to Inspector of Police Headquarters, Dinesh Raj Mainali, SP of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, Nava Raj Silwal, Superintendent of Police of Metropolitan Police Range, Lalitpur, Kedar Man Singh Bhandari and Police Inspector of Metropolitan Police Sector, Gaushala, Santosh Tamang.

A division bench of justices Prem Sharma and Girish Chandra Lal had initiated proceedings against them after issuing order to release the detainees on March 16.