Nepal Police has intensified action against those who try to bribe on-duty officers. In the last 14 months, police arrested as many as 209 people across the country for attempting to bribe on-duty officers, data provided by Nepal Police Headquarters show.

Barely a week ago on November 20, the Metropolitan Police Circle, Maharajgunj, arrested a guesthouse owner for offering a bribe to law enforcement officers.

The owner of the Basundhara-based Aagam Foodland and Guestland, whom police identified as 40-year-old Sommaya Rai, had reportedly offered Rs 50,000 to a police unit that had come to raid her establishment.

“The police unit was mobilised to the guesthouse following reports of illegal activities. The unit detained Rai when she offered Rs 50,000 to the police to keep the goings-on in her guesthouse secret,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Umesh Lamsal, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Circle.

Rai was arrested and taken to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority for further action.

In another incident, a police team from Swayambhu Police Circle on April 15 detained three persons for offering a bribe to release contraband goods.

The trio, who was caught travelling with smuggled clothes in a bus in Chamati, Kathmandu, had offered Rs 35,000 to the police team.

Police identified the three arrestees as Shyam Bishwakarma, 26, of Sarlahi, Dipa Rana Magar, 32, of Surkhet, and Bharat Tamang, 29, of Nuwakot.

“They were arrested on the scene and later sent to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Sudheer Raj Shahi said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Uttam Raj Subedi, the chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range, said Nepal Police has a zero-tolerance attitude on the issue of police-bribing.

“In general, we have observed that drunk drivers, people who do not have driver’s documents, and those smuggling contraband goods tend to offer bribes to get away.”