Kathmandu, Sept 22: Police have decided to track down and bring to justice those involved in torching police buildings and looting weapons.
During the Gen Z protests, dozens of police buildings were set on fire and more than 1,100 firearms and rounds of ammunition were looted or stolen. Police Headquarters has concluded that those who attacked the police were not Gen Z protesters but escapees, drug users, gang members, and criminals.
On Sunday, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandra Kuber Khapung, Valley Police Office Chief and Additional IGP (AIG) Dan Bahadur Karki, and other departmental heads held a meeting at Police Headquarters.
The meeting concluded that to boost police morale, the attacks must be fully investigated and the perpetrators brought to court. AIG Karki reported that some police units had already begun arresting those involved in vandalism, arson, and looting.
IGP Khapung stressed the danger posed by police weapons still out in public and instructed teams to collect intelligence and arrest those who stole them. AIG Karki informed the meeting that one person who had grabbed a weapon from Kalimati Circle and brandished a khukuri had already been arrested.
Police have started mass arrests based on CCTV footage, social media videos, and photos from protest days. The Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office has already taken eight people into custody.
The meeting was presented with figures showing that over 1,200 weapons, including police rifles, and more than 98,000 rounds of ammunition had been looted, and 445 police buildings had been burned.
After the headquarters meeting, AIG Karki summoned chiefs of all three district police offices in the Valley, battalion and company commanders, and circle and unit heads. He directed them to strictly follow the IGP’s orders and move quickly to arrest those who destroyed public property.
The meeting also discussed cleaning and repainting burned buildings and increasing police presence on the streets.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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