The inquiry commission led by former justice Gauri Bahadur Karki has issued a "warning" letter to the Nepal Police Headquarters after it failed to provide details of police personnel deployed in the field on September 8 and 9.
A few days after its formation, the commission had requested the police headquarters in Naxal to submit a detailed list of all officers deployed in the field during those two days. However, the police had not provided the requested details even after 22 days.
The commission then sent another letter inquiring about the details, to which the police responded that personnel ranging from the inspector general of police (IGP) to constables had been deployed, without providing details.
Following this, the commission sent another letter to the police headquarters on Sunday, demanding a reply within 24 hours. In the letter, directly addressed to IGP Chandra Kuber Khapung, the commission warned that failure to cooperate with the inquiry and judicial commission could lead to contempt proceedings.
According to a source at the police headquarters, preparations are underway to reply to the commission. “It’s not that we won’t send details to the commission. We are in the process of sending them,” the source said.
Also on Sunday, the commission wrote to the police headquarters instructing it to ensure that police in-charges and commanders deployed in the Kathmandu Valley on September 8 and 9 do not leave the valley, stating that they may need to be called for questioning and statements.
According to data released by the Nepal Army, 22 people were killed on September 8 alone, and more deaths occurred in the following days. The death toll from the protests on September 8 and 9 has reached 76.
On Monday, 45 of them were declared martyrs by the government.
The inquiry commission formed by the government has been assigned five tasks. They include investigating the human and physical loss caused during the protests on September 8 and 9 across the country, determining the causes of the incidents, collecting and analyzing information and complaints related to physical and human loss and providing recommendations for necessary action, suggesting measures to prevent such incidents in the future, and presenting a clear plan for implementation of the recommendations included in the report.
