Former Maoist combatants have been deployed in security of Pushpa Kamal Dahal after heavy cut in the security detail provided by the government.
Dahal's vehicle would be escorted by teams of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) in separate vehicles earlier. A total of 47 APF personnel led by an inspector, and 27 Nepal Police personnel led by a DSP were deployed for security of Dahal, according to security sources.
But the government has cut the number of security persons deployed for his security to two Nepal Police persons and 16 APF personnel.
Chairman of the youth association of the Dahal-Nepal faction Ram Prasad Sapkota told Setopati that a team of former combatants have been deployed considering the security threat for the erstwhile Maoist supremo. "We have deployed friends from youth association. They all were members of the People's Liberation Army," Sapkota stated. "PM has slashed security detail with an intention of revenge more than for austerity. We are holding additional discussion to decide how to move forward."
A team of unarmed 10 former combatants led by former battalion commander Prakash Pandey will now travel in a vehicle in front of Dahal's vehicle, according to Sapkota.
Pandey was in the security team of Dahal since he joined mainstream politics after signing the peace deal. He was in the third division of PLA at Shaktikhor, Chitwan after Dahal became PM. He opted for voluntary retirement after integration of the combatants in the Nepal Army and joined the Young Communist League which turned into the youth association after unification of the then Maoists with the then CPN-UML.
The security standards for VIPs recently implemented by the Home Ministry has provision of just 16 APF persons and two Nepal Police persons for former PMs.
Both the Nepal Police and APF sources confirmed that everyone apart from two Nepal Police persons and 16 APF personnel have been withdrawn after the Home Ministry implemented the new standards.
