KATHMANDU, Dec 19: The Gandaki Province Police Office (PPO) has formed an investigation committee to probe into the illegally captured and widely-shared photo of former Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Rabi Lamichhane under police custody at District Police Office (DPO), Kaski on Thursday.
Chief of the PPO, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Bhola Bahadur Rawal told Republica that the provincial authority of the Nepal Police have initiated an investigation into the matter after Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Basanta Bahadur Kunwar to investigate the matter and to immediately bring the culprits to justice.
“We have formed an investigation committee to find out exactly who captured the photo and who shared it first,” DIG Rawal said, “Since RSP cadre Dr Nicholous Bhusal has already accepted that he captured the photo, he will be the primary defendant in the case.”
On Wednesday evening, after RSP cadres made public a picture of themselves inside a detention cell on social media, the Home Ministry stated that it had instructed the police to investigate the matter.
Six people remanded into judicial custody for investigation int...
Home Minister Lekhak informed Republica that he has instructed the police chief to investigate the matter and take immediate action against the culprits.
"I have instructed the IGP to investigate this matter and bring the culprits to justice, whoever they may be." Home Minister Lekhak said, "The police are investigating the matter of the alleged photo of him in custody."
Similarly, Police Spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police Bishwa Adhikari also informed that the police have started the necessary investigation into the matter of the alleged publication of the picture.
“Since Bhusal already accepted that he took the photo, he will face legal action accordingly,” SSP Adhikari told Republica.
The photo, which was posted on Facebook by Deepak Bohara, co-treasurer of RSP, went viral after being shared widely on social media.
After the photo went viral on social media, Dr Bhusal, a supporter of Lamichhane, took to Facebook to confirm that he had taken the photo himself.
Taking to Facebook, he wrote, “This photo is real, I took it myself. It was a mistake, and I apologize. I had no intention of blaming anyone or having bad intentions, so please do not be misled. I went there to understand his health and to provide encouragement.” On Thursday, he came live on the social network Facebook and said that he had taken the photo in front of the police.
He said in Live, “I went to meet brother Rabi. While going to meet him, I sat in the CCTV camera room and watched him. I sat there for a moment. It was during that time that I took the photo. The police officers were also there, maybe they have forgotten.”
