SSP promotion pending for five months
KATHMANDU, Jan 10: The promotion of the Nepal Police Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) has been put on hold for five months because of political interference. Party leaders have been trying to advance junior officers and their companions for the available SSP role since mid-August, leading to a standstill in the process.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Basanta Bahadur Kunwar have been discussing the issue for a week, but the process has not progressed. The promotion process stalled when the Home Minister's Secretariat pushed for promoting Police Superintendents (SP) from the third and fourth batches, creating an obstruction. In response, IGP Kunwar insisted on promoting only senior SPs from the second batch to the SSP position. As a result, the groundwork for the process has been halted in recent days.
The promotion of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) was delayed due to Home Minister Lekhak’s busy schedule on Wednesday evening, even though Home Secretary Gokarn Mani Duwadi, IGP Kunwar, and Additional Inspector General (AIG) were prepared. According to a source, the chance of the SSP promotion occurring by Saturday evening is now unlikely since the Home Minister left Kathmandu early Thursday morning.
Sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the Home Minister's Secretariat and individuals close to the minister exerted unnecessary pressure on IGP Kunwar for the SSP promotion, leading to a brief argument between Home Minister Lekhak and IGP Kunwar. The source added, "They had some verbal disagreement due to the undue pressure they received."
Transfer, promotion of police personnel cannot be done outside...
The lack of promotions within the working ranks of Nepal Police for an extended period has affected both performance and efficiency evaluations. Over the past year, the government promoted and retired eight Additional Inspectors General (AIG), while aspiring Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP), Superintendents of Police (SP), and Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) have been waiting for their promotions for the past five months. The government's focus on promoting AIGs has delayed the promotions for SSPs, SPs, and DSPs.
Since October, the Ministry of Home Affairs has filled three vacant positions of Additional Inspector General (AIG) through promotions but has neglected to promote Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP). While the government has made short-term AIG appointments and sent them into retirement, it has ignored the SSP promotions. Despite repeated efforts by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kunwar to push for SSP promotions, Home Minister Lekhak has failed to address the matter in a timely manner, hindering career development within the police force. Recently, by promoting individuals to AIG for short-term assignments and retiring them, the government has increased financial burdens on the state.
The Ministry of Home Affairs handles the evaluation for Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) promotions, while the Police Headquarters is responsible for evaluating promotions for Superintendents of Police (SP) and Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP). The Home Secretary oversees the SSP promotion process, whereas a committee led by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) evaluates the promotions for SPs and DSPs. Since last September, 25 SSP positions have remained vacant, with 40 SPs vying for these roles. Aspirants have been exerting pressure through power centers to secure their promotions. This has resulted in unhealthy competition, while delays in the promotion process have hindered career development at lower ranks, leading to complaints from police officers.
The Police Headquarters stated that it is preparing for promotions. "We are making the necessary preparations, and promotions will happen soon," said SSP Bishwo Adhikari, spokesperson for the Police Headquarters.
On August 31, 17 SSP positions became vacant. Since then, eight more SSP positions have remained unfilled. Despite the positions being vacant for four months, which has affected operations, the Police Headquarters has shown sensitivity to the issue. However, aspirants for the promotions, who have sought support from power centers, remain dissatisfied with the delay.
Officers who were recruited as Police Inspectors on June 17, 1999 and August 2, 2001, and later promoted to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) on February 25, 201), are now candidates for SSP promotion. These include Govinda Adhikari, Binod Silwal, and Bimal Raj Kandel from the 1999 batch. Other promotion aspirants are Ramesh Thapa, Prakash Ranabhat, Kamal Thapa, Krishna Prasad Koirala, Janardan GC, Santosh Khadka, Ranjyu Sigdel, Anupam Shamser Jabra, Shyam Kumar Mahato, Krishna Prasad Pangeni, Ajay KC, Nabraj Adhikari, and Bir Bahadur Budhamagar.
Among them, authorities recommended disciplinary action against Ranabhat after confirming that he had taken financial benefits from drug dealers while serving as SP in Dhanusha. When the current IGP Kunwar was in the Secretariat, he attempted to take action against Ranabhat, but the process was halted due to pressure from power centers at that time.
The Police Headquarters states that his track record is poor. The Office of the Attorney General recommended questioning him. Additionally, SP Thapa's involvement in the Lalitpur honeytrap case has weakened his promotion prospects. Kandel was suspended for his role in the Yarsa Gumba looting while serving as an inspector at the Crime Branch. The decision has been made to block Bimal Basnet’s promotion for five years, making it unlikely for him to be promoted.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has refused to promote individuals who have been weak in performance and efficiency evaluations, which has led to the Home Minister not showing much interest in the current promotions. Through various party leaders, the Nepali Congress pressured for the promotion of officers such as Chakra Joshi, ranked 56th, Yogendra Singh Thapa, ranked 50th, Padmabahadur Bista, ranked 45th, Bhubaneshwar Tiwari, ranked 39th, Suresh Kafle, ranked 41st, and Rajendra Dhimal, ranked 38th, insisting they must be promoted by any means. In response, the IGP refused their promotion, stating that giving them promotions would be equivalent to promoting constables all at once. Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi also supported this stance, insisting that promotions should be based on performance evaluations.
Home Secretary Duwadi emphasized that promotions must be based solely on performance evaluations and should not involve any disputes. Meanwhile, IGP Kunwar has maintained that the promotion process should proceed without disrupting the chain of command, assuring that everyone will eventually have their turn. "Everyone will get their turn. It's not good to prepare for promotion from the third and fourth batches. This will cause problems within the entire organization," the source quoted IGP Kunwar.
Under pressure from power centers, some officers tried to bypass top-performing officers in the evaluation process by staging protests at the Home Ministry and visiting leaders' homes. IGP Kunwar resisted this attempt, which led to some delays in the SSP promotion process. However, with the support of Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi, the promotion round is expected to proceed without disputes. A source from the Home Ministry confirmed this. On Thursday, the Home Minister's secretary and IGP visited the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar to provide an update on the promotion process.
Tulbahadur Karki, Rakesh Singh, and Rajiv Bahadur Basnet from the second batch are competing for promotion to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). Officers who were recruited as Police Inspectors on August 2, 2001 are also vying for the SSP promotion. These include Hobindra Bogati, Bed Bista, Sanjay Singh Thapa, Shantiraj Koirala, Dayanidhi Gyawali, Prabhu Dhakal, Amrendra Bahadur Singh, Shyam Singh Chaudhary, Prabin Dhital, Prabhuprasad Dhakal, Santosh Singh Rathore, Shiva Kumar Shrestha, and Rishiraj Kandel. Kandel, who was passed over for promotion to SP, is also a contender.
