KATHMANDU, Jan 5: Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) have been instructed to furnish the details of ‘ghumuwa prahari’ (plain-clothes police personnel mobilized at the ground level to collect information on crimes) to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Although they were asked to send the details on January 2, both police organizations replied that they do not have such police personnel and have only those police personnel who are assigned to collect information and investigate crimes, according to sources familiar with the development.
“There are no ghumuwa prahari. There are officers engaged in crime-investigation and the details of these police personnel are not necessary for the ministry. We only have to tell them about the number of approved positions of police personnel. Nepal Police has the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and Valley Crime Division. There is no need to wear police uniforms when the staff working there are engaged in crime investigation. That's why only the details are sent," said a source at the police headquarters.
Nepal Police has investigative offices like CIB, Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, Narcotics Investigation Bureau, Cyber Bureau, Valley Crime Investigation Office etc. The police officers working at these offices are draped in plain clothes. Also, the police working at the Special Bureau of Police and Armed Police Intelligence Bureau also wear plain clothes. Apart from this, it is customary for the head of the office to keep ‘informers’ police for information collection.
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In some cases, action was taken when a complaint was made to the department stating that the ghumuwa prahari were engaged in financial manipulation. “We were asked for details. We are consulting on what to send," Nepal Police Spokesperson DIG Tek Prasad Rai said. He also mentioned that the police who are engaged in crime investigation are in plain clothes.
The armed police also said that no ‘informers’ had been removed from the office. After Raju Aryal was appointed as the Inspector General of Police, on May 16, 2022, he had given instructions to return the informers immediately if they were in any office. "As complaints have been received from various units that the armed police personnel deployed in plain clothes have taken financial advantage from various units by collecting information, henceforth, instructions have been given not to deploy police personnel in plain clothes," said the instruction issued by the armed police on May 20.
Spokesperson of the Armed Police, SSP Purushottam Thapa, also said that there are no informers in the Armed Police. “At present, there are no informers anywhere. We have made a standard 2079BS regarding the deployment of armed police personnel in plain clothes. Under it, there are only police personnel working in the Intelligence Bureau,” said SSP Thapa. According to him, apart from that, no armed police personnel are on duty in plain clothes.
“It is customary to call some policemen who have gone to work as informers, but we keep their details tight in the organization. If we give names, not only them, but also others will not agree to work in such a way in the future," said an officer of the police headquarters.
In a letter written by the Ministry of Home Affairs to both the police organizations, it has been instructed to provide the number of police personnel in plain clothes within three days. It expired on Wednesday evening.
“What is the number of police personnel in plain clothes operating under Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal?” The Ministry of Home Affairs had sent a letter stating, "Are the policemen deployed in this way operating according to the standards or not? What is the system of changing the turn? Who are they working under? Please make the details of federal, province and districts available within three days.". Sources in the ministry say that the information was requested because both the police organizations were discredited due to police personnel in plain clothes.
