Out as IGP, in as adviser: Nepal has seen this before
The RSP-led government’s decision to remove IGP Dan Bahadur Karki recalls a similar move in 1997, when Home Minister Bamdev Gautam replaced IGP Achyut Krishna Kharel.Combo of Post photos
The Rastriya Swatantra Party-led government’s removal of Dan Bahadur Karki as inspector general of police has revived memories of a similar episode three decades ago.
Less than a month after becoming home minister, Bamdev Gautam removed then IGP Achyut Krishna Kharel and installed an IGP of his own choosing. On April 3, 1997, with Kharel having spent just 36 days in office, Gautam transferred him to head the Investigation Department.
A newspaper clipping from April 1997 reports Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan’s appointment as IGP after Home Minister Bamdev Gautam removed Achyut Krishna Kharel. From Kantipur archives
Gautam appointed then additional inspector general Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan as the new IGP. Govinda Thapa, the Investigation Department chief, was shifted to the Special Police. The decision drew widespread criticism.
Kharel, claiming he had been removed illegally, petitioned the Supreme Court for reinstatement. Eight months later, the court did not issue a ruling. Hearings were held, but no verdict came.
Gautam himself was under fire at the time. The opposition accused him of misusing state machinery to defeat their candidates in the local elections held after he became home minister, and demanded an investigation.
Kharel was removed during Lokendra Bahadur Chand’s prime ministership. But the Chand government collapsed on October 7, 1997, and Surya Bahadur Thapa became prime minister with Nepali Congress support. His cabinet restored Kharel as IGP and appointed Pradhan as special adviser to the prime minister. It also reinstated Thapa as chief of the Investigation Department.
A clipping from late 1997 reports Achyut Krishna Kharel’s reinstatement as IGP under the Surya Bahadur Thapa government. From Kantipur archives
The cabinet cited several grounds: the Public Service Commission had not been consulted when Special Service officers were appointed to the civil service; Kharel had been abruptly removed before completing his legally mandated tenure, and his appointment as chief of the Special Service was not lawful; and the decision had created confusion in the police force.
Resuming office at Police Headquarters on December 11, Kharel said self-serving tendencies must not be allowed to take root in the police organisation. He argued that a police officer who joins the force should be able to retire from it.
“This is the natural right of a police officer,” he said.
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