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Govt to arm traffic police
KATHMANDU, JAN 14 - In response to increasing Maoist attacks on unarmed traffic police, the government is considering arming them with light guns for their self-defence.
A decision to allow all the traffic police to carry firearms is likely since they have become the targets of the Maoists, according to Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO).
"We have long been demanding the Police Headquarters to allow the traffic police
to carry fire arms for their
personnel safety but we have not been authorised to do so.
But as they face increasing threats to their lives, it has become a necessity now," said Surendra Bahadur Pal, chief of the VTPO.
At least seven traffic policemen on duty have been shot dead by the Maoists during the last one-year. Three of them were shot dead in Dhangadi last week.
On January 2, armed Maoists shot dead two traffic policemen in Bara. Similar incident also occurred in Dadeldhura.
Pal said that some traffic police officers have already been carrying light weapons, but said time has come for every traffic policeman to posses a firearm.
Deputy Inspector General Gyanendra Bikram Mahat at the Police Headquarters said traffic police is an inseparable part of the security unit and a process is on to arm them.
"Arming them is very much relevant in the present context especially if we see the recent attacks," DIG Mahat said.
However, he said that not every one of them could be armed due to the shortage of weapons. "We have some in the stock and some more have been ordered."
He added that the process of distributing arms to traffic police has already been
initiated.Posted on: 2004-01-15 04:01
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