KATHMANDU, Jan 28: The staff of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Immigration Office have started by wearing black armbands during duty hours to protest against the alleged police excesses and the assault of employees at the airport.
The immigration staff may have made a mistake during the security check, but the employee did not physically engage with the police. On the contrary, the employees claim that the police overreacted by physically assaulting the head of the immigration office. They also accused the police of making a false statement that the policeman on duty was forced to take physical action in self defense.
As a form of protest against these alleged actions, the employees are now working with black armbands.
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"If any person makes a mistake, we are ready to face action according to the law. But it is a serious issue if the security personnel assigned for security assaults the head of the immigration office," said an employee of the TIA immigration Office.
The incident, which occurred at around 12 PM on Friday between police constable Raviranjan Gupta and immigration officer Chhaya Moktan in the departure hall of TIA, has created an uncomfortable situation at the airport. In protest, employees are now wearing black armbands.
A ruckus broke out when Immigration Officer Moktan attempted to enter the passengers’ waiting room, and police constable Raviranjan Gupta attempted to perform a body check on Moktan. The situation escalated to physical assault by the police.
After coming to know that the policeman had assaulted the immigration officer, officers including the head of the immigration office, Gogan Hamal, inquired about the incident but were also assaulted while reviewing the CCTV footage.
The incident is under investigation, and a team, including Joint Secretary Thaneshwar Gautam, the coordinator of the investigation committee, is conducting an inquiry. “Until the investigation concludes, we have chosen to wear black armbands as a form of protest,” said an employee.
