Who is Manoj KC, the officer now leading Nepal Police?
A contemporary of Dan Bahadur Karki in the same police batch, KC rose to prominence for leading the investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam but was later sidelined.
The Cabinet on Wednesday assigned Additional Inspector General Manoj KC to lead Nepal Police after removing Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki at an emergency meeting. KC had been heading the Crime Investigation Department at Nepal Police headquarters.
On September 21, 2025, the government transferred KC from the Police Provincial Coordination Department to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). He was later moved to the Crime Investigation Department.”
When Karki was appointed inspector general, KC was among three additional inspector generals in contention for the top police post. The other contenders were Rajan Adhikari and Siddhi Bikram Shah.
Karki, Adhikari and KC joined the police service as inspectors in 1998, making KC a contemporary of Karki from the same recruitment cohort.
KC came into prominence for his role in advancing the investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam while heading the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office.
The case had remained stalled for a long time before KC moved forward with a complaint and arrested three suspects on March 26, 2023. They were Keshav Dulal, Tanka Gurung and Sanu Bhandari, members of a racket that allegedly sent Nepali youths to the United States by passing them off as Bhutanese refugees. Their arrests gave fresh momentum to the investigation.
The investigation later expanded to include organised crime charges, leading to the arrests of several high-profile figures, including former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and then home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey.
KC was a senior superintendent of police (SSP) when the fake refugee scam came to light. A team under his command went to the residence of Nepali Congress leader Khand to arrest him.
The operation angered the Nepali Congress leadership. KC did not receive key postings while the party remained in government.
On August 21, 2023, as investigators began the second phase of the fake Bhutanese refugee scam probe, the then government removed KC from his responsibilities.
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