The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the resignation of Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Ashok Singh.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also holding the home portfolio, approved the resignation with effect from Wednesday.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Poshraj Pokharel, who is also the spokesperson for Nepal Police, said the Home Ministry has informed the police headquarters of approval of the resignation.

Singh had put in papers on Wednesday following an accusation of fabricating his date of birth in his documents. Singh submitted his resignation to the Personnel Administration Branch at the Nepal Police Headquarters after it was revealed that he had reinstated his term by falsifying his true age.

Singh, who is currently the police chief of the Sudurpaschim Province, has been found to have different dates of birth on his citizenship and police seat roll.

A case had been filed against Singh at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) by a resident of Bagbazaar, Bishwa Prakash Bhetwal, last Wednesday, accusing him of misrepresenting his true age.

Following the complaint registration, an investigation was launched into the matter which revealed that Singh’s date of birth on his seat roll deferred from that on his citizenship.

The office of the chief secretary, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Police Headquarters were also notified of the complaint filed with the authority.

According to high-level sources, Singh’s age differs by one year in the concerned documents. Singh, whose date of birth is stated as December 30, 1968 on his seat roll, was stated as 18-year-old on his citizenship issued on June 4, 1985.

If the date on his citizenship is found to be his real date of birth, Singh will have been ineligible to enter police service in the first place.

As per the Nepal Police Act, 2015, an officer must not exceed 25 years of age, at the time of application, to be eligible for the post of police inspector. Singh, who entered service in the same post, would have crossed the age limit, if his date of birth stated on his citizenship is found to be authentic.

Singh, who started his service as a police inspector on March 19, 1995, was promoted to the posts of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Superintendent of Police, and Senior Superintendent of Police, without having his background checked.

Singh was in the race for the promotion to the post of Assistant Inspector General and he was also seen as a possible candidate for future Inspector General of Nepal Police.

The incumbent Inspector General of Police Dheeraj Pratap Singh, who entered service in March 1993, along with other senior officers will go on compulsory retirement from March 2023 onwards, after completing 30 years of service.

Singh started his service as a police inspector on  March 19, 1995, and would have served until March 19, 2025.