Almost every chief at Hanumandhoka police office will say informally, "If only I were free to work with my conscience, I would control crime within a month." [break]
Inspector General of Police Ramesh Chand Thakuri expresses himself in similar vein. Offering his views in an interview to myrepublica.com he too makes it clear that Nepal Police suffers from politics.
While responding to unremitting calls from the Home Ministry to attend a regular security briefing, he says, "We should be in a position where we do not have to bother who is or is not in power. Police should be of everybody as well as of nobody."
For IGP Thakuri, his job is not a secure one. A cop keeps mum lest somebody marks him out to get even later. "He should be liable to the administration alone," Thakuri says.
The police chief now has to deal with a new minister in a situation where the main challenge to security, in his words, is lack of an atmosphere of support. That is capped by politics, and there are evidently also civic non-compliance, government policies and societal misgivings, he says.
"We are capable enough of fighting organize crime despite limited resources," he says. "But we alone cannot fight chaos in the streets, without a supportive atmosphere." He discloses that the recent practice of strictly cracking down on road obstructions has the backing of Home Minister Bhim Rawal. But he also seeks the support of the political parties to make this crackdown a success and further hints that the home administration is yet to develop complete consensus among all its major wings.
"We need a high level of societal understanding to maintain law and order," he goes on. "When only rumors matter, no amount of state power can work."
Asked whether he has any real good news for the general public besides the determination to end road obstructions, he turns to principles. "Without more strength, we cannot deliver. We need a substantial boost as we just did away with conflict," he says. "We should be legally authorized to carry out effective actions."
Current Investigation System Defective
Thakuri hopes that the government´s plan, incorporated in the new budget, to set up a special crime investigation bureau will make up for lapses in the current system. According to him, the existing system is not up to date in technology and not smart enough to cope with a worsening crime scene aggravated by the growth of a metropolitan milieu.
´´There are a lot of cases that elude us because we lack the technology," he says. "We have to man, equip and facilitate the bureau so that we can handle cases of high gravity effectively."
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