Political interference and internal power struggles shake Nepal Police after abrupt IGP change

Kathmandu, November 5 Two contradictory statements by government spokesperson Sasmit Pokhrel and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) spokesperson Jagadish Kharel offer a glimpse into how little coordination may have gone into the government’s decision to replace Nepal Police chief Dan Bahadur Karki with Manoj Kumar KC. Speaking after Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Education Minister and government spokesperson Pokhrel claimed that Karki had been removed and KC appointed on the instructions of the government’s own party, the RSP.

Before Pokhrel’s statement had even disappeared from online news headlines, RSP spokesperson Kharel disputed it, saying the party had issued no such instruction. The conflicting accounts from two leaders of the same party point to a lack of consultation and coordination over a decision concerning one of the state’s most sensitive institutions — the police, which is entrusted with enforcing the law.

Although Karki and KC are the visible figures in the latest dispute, the power struggle within the ruling establishment runs much deeper.