The government suspended the nine senior security officials including chiefs of the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force (APF) and the National Investigation Department on the basis of recommendation of the high-level judicial probe commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi on Friday.

An emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala took the decision Friday evening.

Inspector General of the Nepal Police, Shyam Bhakta Thapa, Inspector General of the APF, Sahabir Thapa, and NID head, Devi Ram Sharma, have been removed from their posts for their role in suppressing the recent people’s movement.

Other suspended police officers are Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGPs) Rajendra Bahadur Singh, Roop Sagar Moktan and Krishna Basnet, with immediate effect.

Similarly, the government has suspended Additional Inspector General of Armed Police Force Rabi Raj Thapa and SSPs’ Madhav Thapa and Durja Kumar Rai.

The senior police officers were suspended for their direct involvement in the brutal atrocities during peaceful demonstrations at Gongabu and Kalanki.

The Rayamajhi Commission, which has been investigating into the atrocities committed by the former royal government during the pro-democracy movement, recommended their removal from their respective posts.

A meeting of the Security Council is expected to take a decision about the fate of Royal Nepalese Army chief Pyar Jung Thapa. The seven parties have been facing strong pressure from their ranks and various other sections to remove the army chief as well.

Meanwhile, the government appointed Om Biram Rana, Basudev Oli and Dhan Bahadur Karki as the acting chiefs of the Nepal Police, APF and NID respectively. All three acting chiefs, it is said, were second-in-command in their respective offices.