Kathmandu, 3 Sep: ‘A major flood is coming from upstream. Move quickly to a safe place at higher ground. Move quickly to safety.’ As the Bhote Koshi flood swept through settlements and markets along the riverbank, police officers were using loudspeakers to urge residents to move to safer areas. However, the very officers who were warning and protecting the public were themselves swept away by the raging floodwaters.
Police Assistant Sub-Inspectors Ramkaji Paudel and Ramhari Khadka, and Police Assistant Head Constable Dipendra Bista, lost their lives while trying to save civilians. Their bodies have already been recovered.
Police Assistant Head Constable Santosh Rijal, who was part of the same team, managed to escape and save his life. Recalling the incident, Rijal said, “After receiving information that the floodwaters were suddenly surging rapidly, we were running around using loudspeakers to urge local residents to move to safe places. At that very moment, we ourselves were caught in the flood.”
Rijal said he abandoned his motorcycle and ran toward the forest at higher ground, adding that he survived by just 10 seconds. At present, he says the pain of losing his colleagues is greater than the happiness of having survived. The images of people, houses and his colleagues being swept away by the flood before his eyes continue to haunt him.
According to eyewitnesses, a team of five or six police officers was running around urging local residents to leave the danger zone. Many residents managed to reach safety following the police warning. However, the police officers who were running to protect the public could not escape the raging floodwaters.
25 Police Personnel Still Missing
A total of 28 Nepal Police personnel have been reported missing while carrying out rescue and security operations during the Bhote Koshi flood. Three of them have already been found dead, while 25 remain missing.
According to the police, eight personnel from Timure Police Post, three from Syafrubesi, eight from Rasuwagadhi, one from Haku, and five from the temporary police post at Mailung remain missing. In addition, 45 Nepal Army personnel and 13 Armed Police Force personnel have also been reported missing in the flood.
As security personnel who are deployed on the front lines to save lives during disasters have themselves become victims of the disaster, search and rescue operations have become even more challenging.
Nepal Police Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki said that searching for missing police personnel is the responsibility of the organization itself. “The primary duty of the police is to protect the lives and property of citizens. Our colleagues have gone missing while carrying out this responsibility. We ourselves must search for them; it is our responsibility,” he said.
Nepal Police Central Spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General Avinarayan Kafle said the organization is mourning the loss of its members who died while trying to save civilians during the disaster. A separate team has been mobilized to search for the missing police personnel.
He said, “During a disaster, the responsibilities of the police are not limited to maintaining peace and security. The police are responsible for disseminating information about risks, taking citizens to safe locations, conducting search and rescue operations, and, when necessary, managing the bodies of the deceased. Our colleagues have also been caught in the flood while carrying out these responsibilities.”
A police uniform may carry a rank, but behind that uniform is a family. Police officers are also someone’s children, husbands, fathers, elder brothers or younger brothers, and members of families. Their families and children are anxiously waiting for their missing loved ones to return.
Many police families who had been waiting for their loved ones to return home after completing their duties are now filled with anxiety. The news that the very officers who ran to save civilians despite knowing that their own lives were at risk did not return home has left everyone shocked.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Nepal Police Policy-Making Committee, chaired by Inspector General Karki, decided to provide Rs. 1 million in relief assistance to each family of the police personnel who lost their lives in the flood.
