Four ministers appointed by Nepal’s king during his 14 months of absolute rule were arrested and detained for 90 days on the orders of the new government on Friday, relatives, police and media said.
Former home minister Kamal Thapa, ex-foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey and the royal government’s spokesperson Shrish Shumshere Rana were among those rounded up on Friday afternoon, they said.
Local media said the three, along with former local development minister Tanka Dhakal, were arrested on the orders of the home ministry.
There was no immediate comment from the ministry, but a family member of Rana said he was being held on charges of plotting against the new administration.
“He has been accused of conspiring against the current government,” said the relative on condition of anonymity.
He added that Rana was arrested by plainclothes police on Friday afternoon.
Nischal Nath Pandey said his father was being held at Kathmandu’s police barracks.
“My father has been served a 90-day arrest warrant and has been taken to police barracks,” he said.
The arrests are the first under the interim government, which took power last month after weeks of pro-democracy protests forced King Gyanendra to give up absolute rule and restore Parliament.
Gyanendra’s rule was marked by frequent arrests and detentions of opponents as the king cracked down on dissent.
The interim government has agreed to begin peace talks with rebel Maoists, and to form a body that will rewrite Nepal’s Constitution, clipping the powers of the king.
It also formed a commission to probe rights abuses during the king’s rule, which on Thursday recommended the close monitoring of senior officials while the investigation takes place.
The commission has also called on the government to suspend the heads of the army, police, armed police and the national investigation department.
“The security chiefs could hamper investigations into abuses,” Radio Nepal reported.
Meanwhile, on Friday a senior Maoist leader said the rebels’ elusive commander Prachanda, or “the fierce one”, would personally lead the insurgents’ negotiating team in peace talks with the new government.
“There’s a high possibility our chairperson, Prachanda, will head our team,” Matrika Yadhav, former rebel commander for the central Terai region, told Agence France-Presse.
But other senior rebels may hold preliminary talks before Prachanda becomes personally involved, said Yadhav, who was freed from jail on Thursday after the government dropped murder charges against him.
The Maoists’ “people’s war” to replace Nepal’s Hindu monarchy with a communist republic has left at least 12 500 dead since 1996.
But the rebels entered into an alliance with opposition parties during the king’s rule and declared a ceasefire, reciprocated by the interim government, after he stepped aside. — AFP