Armed Police AIG Banshiraj Dahal Suspended Over Alleged Leak of Sensitive Information

Nepal's Home Ministry suspended Banshiraj Dahal on Monday evening, October 5. Dahal is an Additional Inspector General, a rank called AIG, in the Armed Police Force, Nepal's paramilitary security force. The ministry cited alleged links to people under investigation and a possible leak of sensitive state information, OnlineKhabar English and BBC Nepali reported. Nepalnews reported that ministry spokesperson Ananda Kafle said an inquiry officer has three days to report back.

AIG is one of the most senior ranks in a force that guards Nepal's borders, VIP convoys and disaster response. The inquiry must now establish whether one of its top officers passed sensitive state information to people under investigation, as the Home Ministry suspects.

Investigators are examining a reported visit Dahal made to the Teku crime office in Kathmandu on the night of September 27. Cholendra Shumsher Rana, a former chief justice of Nepal's Supreme Court, was being held there, OnlineKhabar English reported, citing sources. Phone records examined in the probe show contact between Dahal and an intermediary, Inam Sapkota, the outlet reported.

Sapkota remains in police custody on a separate charge of indecent behaviour. National police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Thapa confirmed this to OnlineKhabar English. No official statement has linked that charge to the leak allegation against Dahal.

Kathmandu Post reported, citing an unnamed senior Armed Police Force official, that Dahal is a relative of Rana. No on record source or official statement has confirmed this. No outlet has published a response from Dahal, and none report that he has been reached for comment.

Outlets also disagree on when Dahal's term began and was due to end. Kathmandu Post and OnlineKhabar English's initial report said he was due to retire on October 13. A separate OnlineKhabar English report on the appointment of inquiry officer AIG Anjanikumar Pokharel said Dahal's four year term began on May 11, 2022, and was due to end on May 10, 2026. English Ratopati reported his promotion to AIG took effect from Kartik 28, 2079 BS, roughly mid November 2022, a different starting point than the other two reports use. No official record reviewed by Nepal Wire settles the discrepancy.

What the coverage missed

A senior source told OnlineKhabar English that material recovered from Sapkota's phone concerned Prime Minister Balen Shah's activities and financial transactions, not only information tied to Rana's custody. No other outlet has reported this, and it rests on one unnamed source, so it remains unconfirmed.

OnlineKhabar English separately reported that sources familiar with the matter said police did not obtain a court arrest warrant before taking Rana into custody on September 27. Nepalnews reported that a National Human Rights Commission delegation was denied access to Rana during his detention, waiting 45 minutes at the station gate before leaving. Nepalnews reported that Rana has since been released.

ReviewNepal reported that investigators examined Sapkota's contacts with businessmen Deepak Bhatt and Sulabh Agrawal, who face separate money laundering charges, and found a reference to Rs 50 million, about $375,000, on his phone. OnlineKhabar English separately described Sapkota's contacts as ranging from Rana to Bhatta, as OnlineKhabar English spells it. Neither outlet has confirmed what the Rs 50 million reference refers to.

What we still do not know

• What information Dahal allegedly leaked, and to whom, beyond the single sourced claim about Shah's finances. Inquiry officer AIG Anjanikumar Pokharel or Home Ministry spokesperson Ananda Kafle could answer this.
• Why outlets give different dates for when Dahal's four year term began and was due to end. The Armed Police Force's human resource department or Home Ministry personnel records could settle this.
• On what legal basis Rana was taken into custody on September 27 without a reported warrant. The Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office or the Attorney General's office could answer this.
• Whether Dahal has been asked for his side of the allegations, and whether the inquiry officer's report will be made public. Dahal himself or the Home Ministry could answer this.

The inquiry officer has three days from Monday's suspension to report back, putting a decision around October 8, Nepalnews reported.