5
KATHMANDU, JULY 22
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been assigning police personnel to the houses of incumbent and former high-level government officials in an unauthorised manner on the pretext of their security.
According to the annual report (fiscal 2019-20) of the Office of the Auditor General, the MoHA move is in contravention of a Supreme Court order.
On 8 December 2011, the apex court had issued an order directing the MoHA to provide this facility to incumbent and former VIPs only through a legal provision.
Nine years on, the MoHA has yet to abide by the SC order.
The report said 924 police personnel were deployed in the name of security for VIPs without any related legal provision.
Of them, 239 cops are being misused by incumbent officials, while 595 police personnel are still used as domestic helps of former officials.
The OAG has recommended that the government enact a separate law for providing police personnel to incumbent and former VIPs.
No law has authorised the use of cops for non-policing purposes.
The 82-point action plan made public by Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa states that no one will be allowed to use police for non-policing jobs.
Contrary to this, police personnel continue to be used as domestic helps.
In the wake of a number of complaints over misuse of cops as orderlies and domestic helps, the MoHA had claimed to have recalled 275 such personnel in February last year.
It had issued a circular to Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, directing them not to engage any cop for purposes other than security.
Upon their recall, the cops were deputed to their places of duty to carry out responsibilities in accordance with the prevailing law.
Even incumbent and former VIPs, who do not have security threats from any group, demand cops under the guise of security needs.
Dozens of police personnel, mainly constables and head constables, are said to be working as domestic helps of serving and former officials.
Engaging any cop in non-policing jobs is an infraction of the prevailing law.
Though former high-level officials request for police personnel on the pretext of security threat, most of them are used as cooks, drivers and attendants.
If any former official faces a security threat, he/she may be entitled to cops as security guards through the concerned district administration office.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 23, 2020, of The Himalayan Times. The post Govt urged to enact law to provide cops for ‘personal security& only appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
