Nepal Police AIG Bishwo Raj Pokharel resigns

Pokharel stepped down after the apex court upheld the decision of the government to appoint Dhiraj Pratap Singh as the IGP of Nepal Police, quashing a writ filed against the appointment.

NL Today

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Kathmandu: Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bishwo Raj Pokharel resigned on Monday. AIG Pokharel reached the Human Resources Development Department and handed over his resignation with effective from Tuesday.

Pokharel quit the law enforcement agency after the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the government to appoint Dhiraj Pratap Singh as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Nepal Police. A joint bench of Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki and Justice Kumar Chudal quashed the writ filed by Pokharel against the appointment.

Although Pokharel had applied for leave, his leaves were not approved by IGP Singh.

Pokharel had filed the writ at the apex court challenging the government’s decision to promote Singh as the new top cop. He had sought a stay order from the court.

The appointment of the new IGP had courted controversy in the law enforcement agency. Although the regulation clearly states that the government shall appoint the Inspector General based on merit and seniority, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had appointed Singh, who was behind two additional inspector generals–Bishwo Raj Pokharel and Rabindra Dhanuk–in rankings.

The court, however, upheld the decision and quashed the writ petition