KATHMANDU: Home Minister Sudan Gurung has remarked that security personnel were effectively “handcuffed” for the last 36 years, suggesting they were not allowed to function independently.

He made the statement after a series of arrests within just a week of the new government taking office.

Those detained range from former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak to local gang leaders accused of intimidation and extortion in different parts of Kathmandu.

Following these arrests, Gurung took to social media on Sunday morning, hinting that political parties had long prevented security agencies from operating freely.

“It appears that for the last 36 years, handcuffs were put on security personnel,” he wrote.