Kathmandu, March 8 – Nepal’s investigation panel, which was looking into the September protests by Gen Z and its aftermath, in which over 70 people were reportedly killed and led to the fall of the K. P. Sharma Oli government, finally submitted its report to interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Sunday.
There was some reluctance earlier on the part of certain individuals within the current administration to accept the 1,000-page report, drafted by a three-member committee headed by a retired judge of Nepal’s Supreme Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki.
Earlier media reports suggested that the government may not want to make the report public before the March 5 elections.
“The findings and recommendations of the Gauri Bahadur Karki-led commission are considered crucial. Leaders from the old parties warn that if the report is released before the elections and implicates leaders who are contesting, it could influence the electoral process. As the election code of conduct is already in effect, the Election Commission also has the authority to advise the government on the matter,” The Kathmandu Post said last month.
Incidentally, the government formed the commission on September 21, initially giving a three-month timeframe. However, it was later extended by another 20 days. An early February report in The Kathmandu Post quoted two unnamed ministers saying that although not formally discussed, the government is not inclined to receive the report ahead of the March elections.
Although there was pressure from human rights organizations and Gen Z groups, the interim government, with advice from the Election Commission, chose to accept the report only after the election was over. There were apprehensions that some influential names might be mentioned in the report, which could affect the poll process itself.
The commission members are said to have interviewed about 200 individuals and consulted experts before finalising the report, recommending actions against people held guilty. Recording of statements was reportedly over by the first week of February. It included political stalwarts, including Nepali Congress’s ex-president Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepali Communist Party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), former Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor and projected PM candidate Balendra Shah, among others.
The members also interviewed members of security agencies, such as the then inspector general of Nepal Police, his successor and incumbent, head of the Armed Police Force, Chief of the Army Staff, and the then head of the National Investigation Department.
The commission’s terms of reference included investigating and recommending action on all losses occurred during the September 8 and 9 protests; inquiring into the causes; receiving and analyzing information or petitions related to the losses; presenting measures and suggestions to be adopted to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future; and presenting a clear action plan for the implementation of the suggestions mentioned in the report.
The mandate was later expanded following a 10-point agreement between Gen Z representatives and the government on November 30.
Even before assuming his role as the panel chairman, reported Kantipur News last year, Gauri Bahadur Karki courted controversy by airing his views publicly that those involved in the suppression of the Gen-G movement should be brought to book, they should be investigated and not allowed to escape.
“How can a person who has formed an opinion before the formation of the commission act independently? The question is being raised,” added the report.
The report going public may now attract retaliation from certain quarters against people who are held responsible for the violence, said a former administrator in Kathmandu.
It is more so against those names involved in the police firing that killed 17 people, including a schoolboy, he said, adding that Gauri Bahadur Karki is a “no-nonsense and aggressive” person who will not hide behind innuendos.
