Fires keep haunting the force built to fight them

On the night of Wednesday, June 4, at around 8 PM, a fire broke out at the Motor Transport (MT) Branch of the Armed Police Force headquarters in Halchok. Flames suddenly erupted from the underground parking of the MT Branch, located behind the Halchok stadium. Upon receiving the alert, a team from the headquarters itself, the nearby Bangalamukhi Battalion, and a fire brigade from the APF’s customs office in Balaju quickly brought the fire under control.

The APF stated that the fire was contained in time, preventing major damage. However, the blaze destroyed a Prado vehicle used by an Additional Inspector General (AIG), along with several other vehicles.

According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Bishnu Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for the APF, the losses were limited to vehicles only. The destroyed vehicles include: one Prado (used by an AIG), six electric ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) quad bikes, one scouting motorcycle, and two regular motorcycles. The ATV quad bikes had been intended to be sent to Manang and Mustang districts. These ATVs were electric, and investigators suspect a short circuit in one of them may have triggered the fire.

“Our initial understanding is that the fire may have started due to a short circuit in the ATV bikes,” says one headquarters official.

Spokesperson Bhatta added that whether the ATVs were on charge at the time, and exactly how the fire started, will be determined after a detailed investigation.

Investigation committee formed under DIG

Following the fire,  in which even an AIG’s Prado vehicle was destroyed, the APF headquarters has formed an inquiry committee. It is led by DIG Sandip Thapa.

“We have formed a committee to investigate the incident. It has already begun work,” says Bhatta to Onlinekhabar.

No deadline has been set, but the committee has been asked to complete its investigation and submit a report as soon as possible. The committee will examine the cause of the fire, where it originated, whether any negligence was involved, and will recommend action if any fault is found. It will also suggest measures to prevent future incidents.

A fire at the warehouse two years ago

This is not the first time a fire has broken out at an APF facility. Earlier, on March 9, 2024, a fire broke out at the APF’s central warehouse in Balumbu. The fire, which began at around 4 PM, destroyed large quantities of supplies stored in the compound of No. 9 Pashupatibahini, including 37,000 boots, 37,000 sports shoes, trousers, mats, sleeping bags, mosquito nets, and other equipment.

An inquiry committee was formed under AIG Banshiraj Dahal, and the Home Ministry formed a separate committee as well. Following the investigation, nine individuals were disciplined, including one Superintendent of Police (SP), one DSP, two Inspectors, one Sub-Inspector, one Assistant Sub-Inspector, and one constable. SP Rajendra Shrestha, head of the Central Stores Division, had his promotion blocked for four years, while the remaining eight received warnings.

Fire at the headquarters

Even before that, a fire had broken out at the APF headquarters in Halchok. At the time, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had launched a corruption investigation into four former APF Inspector Generals: Sanat Kumar Basnet, Shailendra Shrestha, Koshraj Banta, and Basudev Oli.

Around that same period, on January 18, 2018, a fire broke out early in the morning at the headquarters’ store. Investigation revealed that it had been deliberately set; kerosene was sprinkled and the fire was intentionally lit to destroy confidential financial documents. The APF corporal Ram Krishna Shrestha was found responsible and dismissed. A corruption case was filed by the CIAA against AIG Banta and other officers.

With this history, fires have now occurred three times in total: twice at the APF headquarters in Halchok, and once at the Central Stores Division.

Negligence sparks questions

The repeated fires, from the headquarters to storage facilities, have raised serious security concerns. The APF’s track record includes an intentional fire to destroy evidence, and a case where a fire engine arrived 45 minutes late to the Balumbu warehouse fire, causing much greater damage. The APF had blamed the delayed response on road blockades by the Durga Prasai group at the time.

The APF is recognised and developed as a special force for disaster rescue and fire control, and even has a dedicated Disaster Management Training Academy, something other security agencies lack. Yet fires at the APF, whether through negligence or deliberate action, continue to recur. The APF’s own internal inquiry report from the warehouse fire had cited negligence in both the incident and the response.

“There is a difference between a fire at an ordinary office or a civilian home and a fire inside the headquarters of a security agency,” says a former AIG of the APF.

The message this sends to the general public is negative. If citizens come to believe that the very force meant to protect them is itself insecure, they cannot trust that force. Such shortcomings need to be corrected in time, he adds.