Arrest warrants were issued on March 7 against former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Dr. Arju Rana Deuba. However, despite the issuance of the warrants, an Interpol red notice has not yet been issued against them. The Deuba couple is currently abroad and has yet to return to Nepal. Reported from Kathmandu, April 21.
Though the arrest warrants have been released, preparations are underway to initiate the process of bringing the Deuba couple back to Nepal. However, even two weeks after the warrants were issued, a red notice has not been issued. The Police Headquarters has not made any formal statement regarding this matter. Avin Narayan Kafle, Central Spokesperson and DIG of Nepal Police, has declined to comment, stating the issue is under investigation.
According to informed sources, until now, the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Kathmandu has not formally communicated with Interpol to request a red notice against the Deuba couple. “An arrest warrant alone is not sufficient to initiate correspondence for a red notice. Concrete grounds and proper documentation are necessary, and since this process is still pending, no correspondence has been made,” the source explained.
At the time the arrest warrants were issued, the Deuba couple was abroad. They had traveled to Singapore for medical treatment on February 27 before the elections and subsequently arrived in Hong Kong on March 20. The National Central Bureau at Police Headquarters will proceed with the process to issue a red notice through Interpol. Once issued, the red notice will enable Interpol’s 196 member countries to detain the Deuba couple if found within their jurisdictions.
