A government secretary sent a text message to the prime minister. Police later picked him up from his home for questioning. Questions have arisen about overreach.

Krishna Hari Pushkar (Karna), secretary at the Office of the Vice President, texted Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who also holds the portfolio of home minister, on Thursday morning, seeking a favour—an act he considered innocuous. But he was shocked when he found himself in the midst of police grilling.

“The tenure of a Government of Nepal secretary is fixed at five years. Given the current circumstances, unless there is your special consideration regarding the post of chief secretary, my retirement on July 8 appears inevitable. I have also noticed the recent call for ambassadorial appointments and respectfully seek your consideration, guidance and support in that regard,” the message sent by Pushkar to Prime Minister Shah read.

He signed off as “your obedient” and included his permanent address—Mahottari, the ancestral district of Prime Minister Shah.

The message has since been leaked and is doing the rounds on social media. Pushkar himself admitted to writing the message.

But questions have arisen about whether sending a text message to the prime minister amounted to an offence serious enough to warrant police questioning.

Dwarika Nath Dhungel, a former government secretary, said detaining a secretary solely because of a text message is highly inappropriate.

According to him, it had long been a common practice for secretaries to communicate directly with prime ministers when necessary.

“If the current prime minister wished to end that practice, the Prime Minister’s Office should have clearly instructed officials to communicate through the chief secretary rather than contacting him directly,” Dhungel told Kantipur. “As far as I know, no such directive has been issued.”

Dhungel said Pushkar could have been summoned for clarification if there were concerns about the message.

“I wonder why police involvement was deemed necessary,” he said.

Pushkar is due to retire on July 8 after completing his five-year tenure as secretary. Eight months ago, he was among several contenders for the post of chief secretary, but the then government led by Sushila Karki appointed Suman Raj Aryal instead.

With retirement approaching, Pushkar had been seeking an opportunity to continue serving the state. Over the past few days, he had tried to secure a meeting with Prime Minister Shah.

According to sources, he approached officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and members of the prime minister's secretariat, requesting an appointment, but was denied.

After repeated attempts failed, Pushkar resorted to sending a text message on Thursday morning before leaving for work.

He then went to his office at the Vice President’s Office in Lainchaur. He received no response during the day. Instead, late in the evening, a police team led by an inspector from the Valley Crime Investigation Office arrived at his residence.

According to sources familiar with the incident, officers informed Pushkar that he needed to accompany them for questioning. Initially confused about why the police had come for him, he later realised that the inquiry was related to the message he had sent to the prime minister in the morning.

According to sources at the Prime Minister’s Office, Shah had consulted members of his secretariat immediately after receiving the text.

One official said the message was viewed as inappropriate at a time when the prime minister was seeking to project an image of transparency and good governance.

“The concern was that a serving secretary was attempting to seek personal favour outside of established institutional channels,” the official said. “The matter was taken seriously, in order to send a clear message that personal connections cannot be used to seek appointments or benefits.”

The Prime Minister’s Office subsequently instructed Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki to look into the matter. The Valley Crime Investigation Office, led by Senior Superintendent Santosh Khadka, then dispatched a team to bring Pushkar in for questioning.

Although police acted on instructions from higher authorities, there appeared to be no legal basis for filing charges against a secretary solely for sending a text message to the prime minister. Pushkar was allowed to go home late on Thursday night.

A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said officers were simply following orders.

“He has already been released, so I do not think there is any need for further comment,” the officer said.

Pushkar previously served as secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration during KP Sharma Oli’s premiership. At that time, Shah was the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Sources close to Pushkar said he had played a coordinating role when the government eventually agreed to send a new chief administrative officer to the Kathmandu municipal office after a prolonged dispute between the metropolis and the federal government.

“The decision to deploy Pradip Pariyar was made while Pushkar was at the ministry, and he coordinated with the political leadership during that process,” an official said. “Because of that prior acquaintance, he hoped to meet the prime minister and present his case. When he could not secure an appointment, he sent a message to a number they had communicated through in the past.”

Hemant Malla Thakuri, a former deputy inspector general of Nepal Police, also criticised the action, arguing that sending a text message does not constitute a criminal offence.

“The secretary did not commit any crime by sending a text message,” Thakuri told Kantipur. “At most, the matter could be viewed as a disciplinary issue, but that is not something for which police intervention is warranted.”

He added that disciplinary matters involving civil servants should be addressed under the Civil Service Act rather than through police action.

“There are established legal and administrative mechanisms to deal with such issues,” he said. “Using the police in this manner is inappropriate.”