National Investigation Department of Nepal

The National Investigation Department (NID), Nepal is one of the government’s main intelligence agency collecting information related to the country’s public security, economic crimes, corruption in government and domestic and foreign terrorist activities. It also has a unit that tracks international spies, cross border terrorism, money laundering, narcotics and human trafficking. It comes under the purview of the Home Ministry. Its head office is situated at Baraf bagh (Snow Garden) inside Singha Durbar.

It is believed that NID has about 1000 publicly hired agents all over 75 districts and an unknown number of paid informants.

History

Officially established circa 1960, it used to be called Nepal Guptachar Bhibhag (Secret Service). It was later renamed to Public Relations Office in 1983 to better reflect its mission. When multi-party democracy was restored in 1990, the erstwhile democratically elected government decided to rename it once more to National Investigation Department by enacting Special Service Act on August 28, 1985. The ranks and grade of the employee were aligned with that of regular police force for administrative purpose until 1983. Parliament enacted laws in 1985 to remove the word "police" from their service by passing Special Service Act 1985 and now have civilian titles. Employees of NID are issued fire arms in need but they don't have official uniform and mostly do their work through their undercover agents.

The National Investigation Department (NID), Nepal is one of the government’s main intelligence agency collecting information related to the national security, public security, economic crimes, corruption in government and domestic and foreign terrorist activities. It comes under the direct supervision of the Home Ministry of Nepal. The headquarter of NID is situated at Barafbagh (Snow Garden), inside Singhadurbar and it has five Regional Headquarters, 75 District Office and some sectoral division in major cities.

History:

Officially established in 2008 BS, as Central Intelligence Bureau.
Reestablished as Guptachar Bhibhag (Secret Service) in 2013 BS.
Later renamed to Central Public Relations Office, Nepal (Jansamparka Pradhan Karyalaya) in 2042 BS
Again renamed as National Investigation Department in 2047 BS.
National Investigation Department by enacting Special Service Act in 2042 BS.
The ranks and grade of the employee were aligned with that of regular police force for administrative purpose until 2042.
Parliament enacted laws in 2042 BS to remove the word "police" from their service by passing Special Service Act and now have civilian titles.
Government enacted Special Service Regulation 2044.
Employees of NID are issued fire arms in need.
Mostly does its work through their cover staffs and undercover agents.
Open staff work for Intelligence management and Information processing.

The primary concern of NID is to:

Concerned mostly with providing human and technical intelligence to the Home Ministry and the Government of Nepal.
Help on the apparatus of the national security to the government.
Maintain domestic peace and public security (Internal Security)
Carry out counter intelligence business and collect the information about terrorists' activities and to disrupt the conduct in Nepal.
Gather human intelligence and disseminate to the concerned body timely.

Role and Function:

Activate against the actions opposed to sovereignty, and the national interest
Separatist Activities
Activities Against Constitution
Activities of Political Parties, Different front group, Organizations who go against the constitution of Nepal
Terrorist Activities
Economic crime, corruption and revenue leakage
Disruptive activities on ethnicity, religion, social harmony and diversified social strata
Identifying child and human trafficking rings/network
Trans-national narcotics traders, money laundering
Trans border Crime (boarder Intelligence)
Oraganized crime and Racketting
Refugees activities and immigrants threats to Nepal
Possible activities caused by hard political aggression
Other role issued by the government of Nepal

Other Secondment Working Organization:

Nepalese Army, Headquarter
CIAA
Immigration Department
Immigration Office, TIA
Vigilance Office, TIA
Prahari Kitab Khana
National Security Council
Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi
Prime Minister Office
Office of the President, Nepal
Office of the Vice-President of Nepal

National Investigation Department (NID)

Agency overview
Formed	1952, 64 years ago as Central Intelligence Bureau.
Headquarters	Kathmandu, Singhadurbar
Aim	National Security
Function	· National security, · Organized crime, · National and International Terrorism · Trans-border crime · Corruption · Governance · Local and Development Related Issues · Other concerned area of internal security
Parent agency	Home Ministry
Other Offices	· Regional Office · District Office · Other Local Unit
Modus Operandi	· Covert and Overt means of information Collection

Mission

Their mission varies depending on country conditions. They are concerned mostly with providing human and technical intelligence to the Home Ministry as well as liaison with public. Maintaining domestic peace and security is of primary concerns to the Home Ministry as well as preventing foreign spies and terrorists to conduct their activities in Nepal.

Activities

They have legal power to make arrests, detain or interrogate any individual and are mostly concerned with gathering of human intelligence using networks of paid informants. Their department had been credited with providing timely information to disrupt terrorist activities, identifying child and human trafficking rings, trans-national narcotics traders, money laundering as well as ISI agents from Pakistan, members of the MSS of China, and RAW from India. During the Maoist insurgency they often gather human intelligence on their activities but also collected reports on violations of human rights and abuses by security forces as no media and journalists were allowed on these operations. They can interview detainees, verify if proper search warrants were issued prior to arrests and if due legal process were followed. They can also conduct examination of corruption of public officials.

They conduct several covert and clandestine operations which are not generally known for long period of time as the right to declassify such operations is limited to the chief of the NID and head of the government.

They act as impartial source of information to the Home Ministry and the HQ directly reports to officials at the Home Ministry.

Offices

They have offices in all 75 administrative districts including region offices in five regions. Numbers varies from ten to fifteen members at each district level in rural districts and numbers can be higher in urban districts, the number of safe houses they run throughout the country especially in the capital city is literally unknown to anyone. They have both Domestic and International surveillance unit which mainly deals with cross border terrorists, drug trafficking, money laundering. They have their officers deployed at sensitive places like international airport, president and prime minister's office, anti-graft body, customs, immigration and embassies abroad.

Present scenario

It used to be a non-political and effective organisation but in the recent pasts due to the meddling by the politicians of all parties this has been a place of employment for party loyalists where now nepotism and political connection thrives. Results can be witnessed by the increase of massive insecurity and lawlessness that thrives in Nepal these days and have failed to prevent some high-profile murder, abduction and terrorist cases in Nepal, such as the threat to bomb Pashupatinath Temple (which turned out to be a hoax threat). So it has to become far from politics otherwise the country will be in transitional period.

Most of the public have misconception that the organization is not effective in its work. It collect the information related to the national security and directly disseminates to the government of Nepal. In most of the case the government seems not very active to materialize the given report due to political and administrative reason.

Though it comes under the direct supervision of Home ministry of Nepal, it works autonomously in some major cases and finally helps to the government in law enforcement.

Heads of the NID

Rom Bahadur Thapa
Harka Bahadur Thapa
Ram Prasad Shrestha
Chand Bahadur Rai
Lekh bahadur Panday
Bishnu Raj Panta
Govinda Karma Thapa
Hari Bahadur Chaudhari
Deviram sharma
Dhan sing karki
Ashok dev bhatt
Moti gurung
Jeet bahadur kc
Dilipraj regmi