Nepal

Kathmandu, November 13

Police raided five different places in Kathmandu and arrested 49 persons for their alleged involvement in illegal gambling yesterday.

Seven persons were held from a rented house of Binay Thapa Magar at Bansbari. Cards and Rs 38,500 in cash were confiscated from the gambling den. Police said Thapa was among the gamblers taken into custody.

Police held five persons, including Kashi Gurung, with Rs 21,350 in cash and gambling materials, from his rented house in Panchakanya, Kathmandu Metropolitan City-4. As many as 13 persons, including Sachit Dulal, were arrested with Rs 258,345, two bank cheques worth Rs 425,000 and kauda from Chobhar of Kirtipur Municipality-6. In yet another raid, police took 10 persons into custody from Halchowk of Nagarjun Municipality-3. Cash amounting to Rs 3.6 lakh and kauda were confiscated from the joint.

Police arrested 14 gamblers with Rs 215,175 and kadua from Nayapati of Gokarneshwor. Of late, the law enforcement agency has stepped up crackdown on gambling, which is punishable by law. Rani Pokhari-based Metropolitan Police Office, which oversees security of Kathmandu valley said at least 120 gambling dens were dismantled and 500 persons were arrested in two months. After police intensified vigilance on casinos to curb the entry of Nepali gamblers there, habitual gamblers have converted hotels, restaurants, eateries, auto-workshops, pubs, bars and private offices and houses into gambling spots, said Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Lal Gyawali.

All metropolitan police ranges, circles and sectors have formed anti-gambling squads in their concerned areas to swing into action whenever they receive information about gambling. He said police had put crackdown on gambling dens on top priority to combat crime in the society and domestic violence. Neighbours, wives and family members of the gamblers were among the key informants, who tipped-off local police offices about these gambling dens, said police.

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KATHMANDU: Vice-president Nanda Bahadur Pun and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli paid a courtesy call on visiting President of Bangladesh Mohammad Abdul Hamid this afternoon.

Matters relating to mutual interest and concern between the two countries were discussed during the meeting between the Vice President Pun and the visiting President.

Likewise, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and President Hamid discussed various aspects of Nepal-Bangladesh relations. The two leaders held serious deliberations about transforming the existing close and traditional relations between the two nations into economic collaboration, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali.

On the occasion, the Bangladeshi President gave assurances to provide every possible support to realising Nepal governmentvision of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis&.

Views were also exchanged on matters related to the expansion of connectivity, energy exchange, use of Bangladeshi port, tourism and trade promotion, among others.

Prime Minister Oli on the occasion requested for efforts to encourage Bangladeshi investors to invest in energy production in Nepal, which could ease the availability of power in Bangladesh.

Collaboration in the international forums on climate change and other regional and global issues, expanding cooperation in waterways, aviation, education, transport and agriculture sector also featured during the deliberations.

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Restructuring of NID will enable security agencies to operate more effectively

Kathmandu, November 13

Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa today said the government was preparing to transform National Investigation Department into professional intelligence agency for tackling organised crime, money laundering, drug smuggling, human trafficking and cybercrime.

Speaking at concluding event of training session organised for deputy investigation directors and chief investigation officers of NID at National Police Academy, Minister Thapa said restructuring of the intelligence body was aimed at identifying and bringing to book criminal groups operating at home and abroad.

&Leadership training imparted to NID officials will help enhance their performance and carry out assigned responsibilities effectively, & he said.

Minister Thapa said massive overhaul in NID would enable it to collect reliable intelligence on criminal networks. &It will pave the way for all security agencies to operate in unified and integrated manner for maintaining law and order in the country,& he claimed, adding that capacity development of all security agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs was prerequisite for effective implementation of the 82-point action plan, issued by the ministry in 2017.

According to Minister Thapa, strengthened security system could play a vital role in realising the governmentgoal of ‘Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepal.& Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal said effective collection, verification and analysis of information would help the security agency identify threats to national security. &Professional efficiency and skill development of investigation officers will prepare them to work in coordination with all security agencies, which share common motto of upholding the rule of law and building crime-free society. It will also enhance the feeling of collaboration and togetherness among them,& he said.

Ganesh Prasad Adhikari, NID chief also stressed the need to pursue systematic reforms of the intelligence body. Though the NID is mandated to collect information on the countrypublic security, financial crime, corruption, domestic and cross-border terrorism, money laundering, narcotics, and human trafficking, it has not been able to work in tandem with its functions, duties and responsibilities.

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KATHMANDU: The main perpetrator of the infamous Hotel Landmark gang-rape case, which happened nearly two years ago in the capital city, has been slapped five-year imprisonment.

Kathmandu District Court handed the prison statement of five years and two months to Shailesh Karki. On November 7, a bench of District Judge Kamal Prasad Pokhrel gave the verdict, and along with it, decided that Karki should provide a compensation of Rs 700,000 to the victim, stated information officer at the district court, Gyan Bahadur Karki.

Two other persons who were involved in the gang-rape — Bikash Gautam and Deepak Shrestha — have been sentenced to 14 months in prison, informed Karki.

On January 21, 2018, a woman was raped in Durbarmarg-based Hotel Landmark. The victim had claimed that she had been gang-raped at the hotel by four persons, including her alleged boyfriend Karki, in a drunken stupor. The next day, the victim filed a case against the four.

Police had formed a five-member probe panel led by Superintendent of Police Ram Dutta Joshi after the gang-rape victim filed the FIR against the culprits at Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, alleging that Durbar Marg-based Metropolitan Police Range had forced her into reconciling with the rapists by accepting a bribe from them, and let them walk free.

Police had then stepped up a manhunt to apprehend Shailesh Karki, Bikash Gautam, Deepak Shrestha and Ravi Paudel.

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