Chand was already on wanted list for past cases

KATHMANDU, March 4: Police have failed to book key leaders of the Netra Bikram Chand (Biplav)-led Communist Party Nepal (CPN) as the former do not have any orders to do so from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Security officials have been regularly updating the ministry on the whereabouts of the party's leaders after the party took responsibility for bomb explosions in different parts of the country, including the one at Nakkhu, Lalitpur in which a civilian was killed and two others were injured.

Following the Nakkhu incident, the security bodies have increased their surveillance on the top guns of the Biplav group and reported their findings to the Prime Minister's Office and the Home Ministry.

“We have been collecting information continuously on the movements of the party's leaders and updating the concerned authorities on a daily basis. We are all ready to make arrests if told to do so,” high-level security sources told Republica.

Following the loss of life in an explosion at the corporate office of telecom company Ncell in Lalitpur recently, security bodies including the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department have mobilized their surveillance of central-level leaders of the party. According to high-level sources at the security bodies, Chand and party leader Khadka Bahadur Biswakarma were in Makwanpur on Saturday. Chand arrived in the southern district of the Valley on Friday from Arghakhanchi and Biswakarma from Rupandehi. “ Dharmendra Bastola, another leader of the party, headed westward from Arghakhanchi while Chand left for Makwanpur.”

The sources also said that Chand was in and around Kathmandu and Nuwakot until February 24 while Biswakarma was around Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk. Another leader Padam Rai was in Bhaktapur and Kavre, and Uma Bhujel was moving about in Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga, Sindhuli and Mahottari , said police sources. Anil Sharma, also a Biplav party honcho, has been moving frequently between Kathmandu and Chitwan .

Security agencies have also alerted the PMO and the Home Ministry about the ongoing conventions of the party's student wing .

The Home Ministry convened a security meeting this week in Butwal, Surkhet and Dhangadhi, focusing on the violent activities of the Biplav party. However, there have been no instructions from the Prime Minister's Office or the Home Ministry about taking any action.

Party chief Chand is already under close watch by the police as he is wanted for past offences. He was also included in the most wanted list for the involvement of his party in incidents of violence during the 2017 polls. The government had then issued a circular to all police offices across the country instructing them to arrest him. The circular was issued following an order from the District Court Bhojpur . He faced a charge of attempted murder . Failing to arrest Chand, the police put him on the absconding list.

Although the police arrested Biswakarma, Bhujel and Mohan Karki last year, the government released them for initiating talks with the party. After the party failed to join talks with the committee formed by the government under former minister Som Prasad Pandey, it had designated the Chand-led party as a political group but suggested keeping its activities under surveillance.

Nepal Police Spokesperson Uttam Raj Subedi said they have information about the recent activities of the party. “Police have been searching for those involved in criminal activities following investigations into their involvement in different incidents,” said Subedi. He added that they have been looking for those involved in explosions and other incidents across the country instead of targeting specific leaders. He confirmed, however, that Chand is on the police wanted list in connection with previous cases .

The police have arrested 40 suspects following the Lalitpur bomb explosion, including a former bodyguard of Chand's.

 
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