House panel seeks police, immigration records on ambassador nominee

Parliament’s Hearing Committee has sought information from the Department of Immigration and police about Giri Bahadur Sunar, the proposed ambassador to Saudi Arabia, following complaints against him.

The committee decided on Monday to seek details from the department and the Lalitpur District Police Range after meeting the individuals who filed complaints against Sunar.

According to a source at the committee, the immigration department has been asked to verify whether Sunar was deported from Germany, as alleged in a complaint against him.

The committee has also sought details from Lalitpur police about a complaint alleging sexual violence by Sunar against an individual, including what action was taken in the case. It wants to establish whether the matter was settled through a formal agreement at the police office.

A lawmaker from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party said the allegations against Sunar were serious. “We found the complaints against Sunar to be serious and have taken them seriously,” the lawmaker said.

The committee is scheduled to hold hearings on Monday for four other ambassadorial nominees. According to its agenda, the hearings are for Nishchal Nath Pandey, proposed ambassador to India; Kalyan Raj Sharma, proposed ambassador to China; Chiran Jung Thapa, proposed ambassador to the United States; and Gaurav Shumsher Rana, proposed ambassador to the United Kingdom.