KATHMANDU: Despite their commitment to serve the people and the nation, a total of 80 people’s representatives have been charged for their involvement in various criminal activities.
The number of such representatives further soared up following the general elections held in 2017. Kathmandu District Court had issued an arrest warrant in the name of Nepal Communist Party lawmaker Parbat Gurung on October 16, 2019.
In April 2019, Birdhwaj Khadka was assaulted in Kathmandu. Khadka filed a case at a police station in Kathmandu against Gurung. Since then he has featured in the most wanted list of the police.
On October 15, one day before an arrest warrant was issued to Gurung, Rastriya Janata Party lawmaker Pramod Sah was arrested from the VIP lounge of the domestic terminal of the Tribhuvan International Airport.
According to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Shailesh Thapa, chief of Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari, Sah was arrested on the charge of vandalism he carried out at Janakpur Airport. He, however, has been released on a general date.
Police, on October 13, arrested Mohammed Aftab Alam, a lawmaker of Rautahat Constituency-2 and former minister, for his involvement in improvising explosives to foil the elections held in 2008.
On October 6, outgoing Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara was arrested on the charge of raping Roshani Shahi, a staffer at the Parliament Secretariat.
Police took him under control from the official residence in Baluwatar. Similarly, Resham Chaudhary, who was elected from Kailali representing the Rastriya Janata Party, has been serving a jail term for plotting the Kalilali carnage while Naradmuni Pun is in the jail for selling red passports.
Politicians mobilize dons and contractors since the mind, muscle and money are indispensable in parliamentary elections, said KC. It has become a challenge to tackle corruption and criminal activities taking place under the political cover, said KC.
Similarly, a banking offense case has been filed against Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development of Karnali Province Khadga Bahadur Khatri for a bounced check.
These are only representative cases involving the federal parliament. According to the statistics maintained by the Nepal Police Headquarters, as many as 80 people’s representatives have been implicated in various crimes.
According to police, the highest number of representatives are from Province 2. A total of 17 representatives are from this province. Charges range from human trafficking to murder, according to police spokesperson Bishwa Raj Pokharel.
Representatives and the crimes they are involved in
According to the records of the Nepal Police Headquarters, a total of 14 representatives have been charged for making citizenship cards by submitting fake documents.
Likewise, 13 representatives are facing public offense crimes while 10 have been implicated in orchestrating crimes. Similarly, six representatives have been charged for forging a government seal, five for gambling, four for rape, three for a murder charge, two for untouchability, two for polygamy and the other two for a drug-related charge.
Crimes under the political cover
Criminal activities are taking place under the cover of political power, according to analysts. The morale of a criminal becomes high under political protection, said political analyst Kapil Shrestha. Another political analyst Surendra KC says, “A criminal, first, commits a crime on his own. He seeks political protection by joining a party. Then, he spreads terror in cahoots with influential politicians. This is the crux of the current problem.”
Politicians mobilize dons and contractors since the mind, muscle and money are indispensable in parliamentary elections, said KC. It has become a challenge to tackle corruption and criminal activities taking place under the political cover, said KC.
The problem is ever increasing due to a human psyche that everything can be done when in power. But, no one is free to commit crimes under the political cover. However, it is an irony to see people’s representatives involved in criminal activities. Such activities will breed anarchy in the country on the one hand while representatives will lose the people’s trust on the other.
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