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Kathmandu, Dec 16: Chief of Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel has told the Gauri Karki led probe commission that the situation went out of control from early morning on September 9, following heavy use of force and casualties the previous day.

While recording his statement, Sigdel said public anger had already peaked due to the earlier violence, making the situation abnormal and unmanageable from the start of the day. A source close to the commission quoted him as saying that an incident of such scale in a small area inevitably pushed the situation beyond control the next morning.

According to the source, Sigdel noted that a curfew should have been imposed early in the morning. Instead, authorities treated the situation as normal until around 10 am, allowing people to come out freely and further worsening the unrest. He added that by the time conditions deteriorated sharply, a timely meeting of the National Security Council and steps such as declaring an emergency could have helped. Without decisions from lawful state bodies, the army could not act on its own, he said.

Sigdel stated that army units repeatedly worked to protect senior officials and government institutions and also rescued many police personnel who were trapped in difficult situations. He maintained that once control was lost, deploying the army independently would have required force, which could have caused even greater damage. For this reason, the army exercised restraint, he said.

Senior army officers responsible for protecting high ranking officials also appeared before the commission to give statements. The Nepal Army had earlier submitted similar explanations to the Supreme Court, though sources say the commission received more detailed accounts.

In its written response to the court, the army said repeated efforts were made to stop crowds attempting to enter Singha Durbar. It claimed that 46 rounds were fired in the air and that agitated groups entering through the main gate twice were physically pushed back and persuaded to leave. The army stressed that human safety was given priority over physical security, even as large crowds advanced from all directions.

Citing the constitution, the army reiterated that deployment decisions rest with the government on the recommendation of the National Security Council, chaired by the prime minister. The army chief is only a member of the council and cannot deploy troops at will. Sigdel reportedly told the commission that unilateral action by the army would have further worsened the situation.

Army officials also maintained that the institution stayed away from political matters and focused only on maintaining peace and security in the national interest.

People’s News Monitoring Service