Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari has said that it was only coincidence that Major General Prem Shahi’s detention by military police and the Supreme Court’s interim order to extend Shahi’s tenure happened at the same time.
Shahi’s detention has raised questions as to why the Army Headquarters did not comply with the Supreme Court’s order and why Shahi was allowed to retire without investigation if the allegations against him warranted investigation.
“Investigation on him was continuing. Military police would have done its job even if the Supreme Court’s interim order had not come,” Bhandari said. “He has been accused of financial irregularities. He is being kept at the Army Headquarters and investigated.”
Shahi was set to retire on January 4 due to age limit if the apex court had not extended his tenure, and had already taken leave 15 days before his retirement.
But he filed a writ petition against the Army Headquarters and the Defense Ministry at the Supreme Court after receiving the letter of retirement. In his petition, Shahi had stated that he still had one year left in his tenure.
Military police had taken Shahi into custody on Tuesday on the charge of financial irregularities, according to Bhandari. He was detained when he went to the Army Headquarters after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to extend his tenure by a year.
Shahi had presented certificates with two different dates of birth – January 4, 1966, and January 4, 1967 – when joining the service. As he was set to retire on the basis of his earlier date of birth, he had filed the petition demanding that the Supreme Court uphold his later date of birth.
