Angry Rawal shakes up security at Singha Durbar

KATHMANDU, March 6: Infuriated with the police´s failure to foil a journalists´ sit-in in front of his office on Tuesday, Home Minister Bhim Rawal has transferred the chief of Singha Durbar Security Police Battalion, Inspector Kush Bahadur Thapa, and has replaced all security personnel from his ministry with those at his residence.



Rawal replaced the security men at the ministry with those posted at his ministerial quarters at Pulchowk and transferred Thapa. [break]



While Thapa has been sent to CA building at New Baneshwar, Inspector Raj Kumar Silwal, who was at the CA building, has been transferred to Singha Durbar to head the battalion. The transfers were effective from Thursday.



After the shake up, members of the general public including journalists, who went to the Home Ministry on Friday, had to go through unnecessary hassles as police personnel relatively unfamiliar with the functioning of the ministry hesitated to allow anyone to enter into the premises.



“Sir, we have been asked not to let anyone inside the ministry without proper inquiries,” said a constable.



A group of about 50 journalists staged a sit-in in front of Rawal´s on Tuesday against the murder of media entrepreneur Arun Singhaniya.



Rawal berated Thapa accusing him of failing to bar the journalists from staging the sit-in in the prohibited zone.



koshraj@myrepublica.com

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