Kathmandu, October 11
Dismissed Armed Police Force (APF) Additional Inspector General (AIG) Banshiraj Dahal has begun consulting legal advisers following his removal from service over allegations of leaking sensitive information.
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced Dahal’s dismissal in a notice issued on the evening of October 9. The departmental action took effect from the same date, according to a statement signed by ministry spokesperson Anand Kafle.
A source close to Dahal said he had started seeking legal advice but had yet to decide on his next course of action.
“He has reportedly begun legal consultations. How he proceeds from here is up to him,” the source said.
According to security officials familiar with the matter, Dahal is the first officer of AIG rank in the history of both the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police to be dismissed over allegations of leaking information.
The government had suspended Dahal on October 5, accusing him of leaking sensitive information and acting in violation of professional conduct. However, the ministry did not specify what information he allegedly disclosed, even in the dismissal notice.
Dahal was serving as chief of the APF’s Border Department and was due to retire on October 14. He had reportedly also been recommended for a possible one-year extension under provisions allowing the government to extend the service of senior officers.
His dismissal is reportedly linked to his alleged connections with a controversial intermediary, his visit to meet former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana while Rana was in police custody, and the alleged disclosure of sensitive information.
Police took Rana from his residence late on September 26 and brought him to the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office in the early hours of September 27. About an hour later, Dahal visited the office in Teku to meet him.
Rana was held at the police office for around 12 hours, during which officers examined activity on his mobile phones, according to the report. He was questioned amid suspicions that he had been involved in irregular dealings and attempts to influence cases involving businesspeople facing investigations or detention over alleged financial crimes.
The investigation subsequently brought another person, identified as Inam Sapkota, into focus. Nepal Police’s Special Bureau reportedly arrested Sapkota at Tribhuvan International Airport while he was preparing to travel to Delhi. He was questioned for a day and is currently in the custody of Kathmandu District Police Range as investigators look into possible money-laundering offences.
Sources claim that Dahal had been in frequent contact with Sapkota, prompting the government to scrutinise their relationship. Investigators allegedly found links between Sapkota, Rana, Dahal and other security officials.
A source further claimed that an examination of Sapkota’s mobile phone revealed exchanges of sensitive information, including information about the activities of Prime Minister Balen Shah.
The allegations against Dahal have not been independently established, and the authorities have not publicly detailed the specific information he is accused of leaking.
