Kathmandu, March 31
Former Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Chhabi Rijal, has been arrested. A team from the Crime Investigation Office carried out the arrest on Tuesday morning.
He was serving as Kathmandu’s CDO during the Gen Z protests.
While serving as the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Rijal had ordered security forces to open fire on protesters on September 8 during the movement.
Before becoming Kathmandu’s CDO, Rijal was the head of the Administration Division at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal. During the tenure of then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, when he led the division, he was also accused of “acting against professional ethics” while assigning employees to immigration and other lucrative offices.
According to details filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority at the Special Court, Rijal, then chief of the Administration Division at the Home Ministry, is under investigation on corruption charges.
The anti-graft body also stated that investigations are underway against individuals named in diaries and records, including Home Minister Lekhak’s personal secretary Badri Tiwari, aide Janak Bhatt, Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi, and Chief Immigration Officer at the Tribhuvan International Airport Immigration Office, Tirtharaj Bhattarai, citing suspicious activities and alleged collusion.
