KATHMANDU: Questions have been raised over the Home Ministry and the Armed Police Force (APF) leadership after a deadly communal clash in Sunsari exposed what security sources describe as a command vacuum within the country’s border security force.
The violence in Dewanganj Rural Municipality on Sunday night left one civilian dead and 22 others injured, including 13 security personnel, amid delays in appointing commanders to eight APF battalions whose one-year tenures expired at the end of the last fiscal year.
According to security sources, the transfer of the eight battalion commanders has been stalled despite the APF Inspector General having the authority to make the appointments under existing regulations. The delay has reportedly stemmed from differences between Home Minister Sudan Gurung and APF Inspector General Narayan Dutta Poudel over personnel management, leaving several sensitive units without permanent leadership.
The clash reportedly began after an argument over loud music played during a Bolbam religious procession in Kaptanganj, Dewanganj Rural Municipality-3. Police said the dispute quickly escalated into violence involving stones, sticks and sharp weapons.
Security officials said an initial police team deployed to the scene was unable to contain the situation. Eight Nepal Police personnel, including Dewanganj Police Inspector Rakesh Rai, and five APF personnel were injured during the confrontation. Inspector Rai reportedly fired three warning shots into the air, but the crowd did not disperse.
An APF team subsequently opened fire, killing 30-year-old Om Prakash Mehta of Dewanganj Rural Municipality-4.
Local representatives and political leaders have questioned whether live ammunition was used without exhausting minimum crowd-control measures, arguing that the absence of experienced field commanders contributed to poor coordination on the ground.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Lal Bikram Thapa, who visited the incident site, alleged that security personnel used excessive force.
“Our innocent youths were deliberately shot. Most of the injured have bullet wounds above the waist, including in the abdomen and back,” Thapa said.
He argued that crowd-control protocols require security personnel to target below the knees and alleged that the firing suggested an intent to inflict fatal injuries rather than disperse the crowd.
Following the incident, authorities deployed 376 additional security personnel and imposed an indefinite curfew in parts of Dewanganj and Harinagar.
The Home Ministry and the APF have yet to publicly respond to allegations linking the delayed commander transfers to the handling of the violence. The shooting remains under investigation.
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