AIG promotions in Nepal Police intensify amid future IGP succession race

The government transferred Nepal Police Inspector General (IGP) Dan Bahadur Karki to the position of the Prime Minister’s special security adviser. An emergency Cabinet meeting on November 4 not only created a new post of security adviser and transferred Karki but also decided to appoint AIG Dr Manoj Kumar KC as the 34th IGP. Thirty years after the Achyut Krishna Kharel controversy, the government has once again created a position that did not previously exist to facilitate the transfer of an incumbent IGP.

Security experts have viewed the move as a sign of political interference in Nepal Police after three decades. With KC’s appointment as IGP, the post of AIG has fallen vacant in Nepal Police. KC had been heading the Crime Investigation Department, which is now being led by DIG Om Rana.

This means a department normally headed by an AIG is currently being run by a DIG. Another five AIG positions will become vacant on December 20, as five senior officers are set to retire upon completing their 30-year service period.