KATHMANDU, April 9: Officials at Nepal Police Headquarters have claimed that a majority of leaders and cadres of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) who have been arrested to date are either out on bail or were released after interrogations.
According to pokesperson of Nepal Police Headquarters Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Uttam Raj Subedi, 338 out of the 579 arrested since mid-April last year were brought to court and a majority of these released on bail. “In addition, 135 others were released after simple interrogations,” he said.
16 cadres of Biplab-led outfit arrested
Police arrested 579 leaders and cadres of the Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) since mid-April 2018. There has been a crackdown on the outfit since the government decided on March 12 to restrict its activities .
According to data maintained by Police Headquarters, 61 leaders and cadres of the outfit were arrested between mid-April and mid-May, 61 between mid-May and mid-June, 52 between mid-June and mid-July, 48 between mid-July and mid-August, 42 between mid-August and mid-September, 33 between mid-September and mid-October, 2 between mid-October and mid-November, 4 between mid-November and mid-December, 12 between mid-December and mid-January, 23 between mid-January and mid-February, 97 between mid-February and mid-March, and 144 since mid-March.
The headquarters said the spike in arrests since February came after the government’s restrictions on the outfit. “Since the bomb blast [carried out by the outfit] and the imposition of restrictions, police have taken an aggressive approach,” SSP Subedi said.
Police Headquarters said a majority of those brought to court have been released on bail, but some face jail time. “In some cases, the court has extended the deadline for interrogations,” Subedi said.
He added that of the 97 arrested between mid-February and mid-March, 55 have been released after interrogations and 42 remain in police custody. Of the 144 leaders and cadres of the party arrested since mid-March, 80 were released after interrogations.
