Kathmandu, Aug. 5 -- When communal tensions flared up in Dewanganj of Sunsari and swiftly spread across neighbouring districts in Madhesh province, Prime Minister Balendra Shah summoned Inspector General of Nepal Police Dan Bahadur Karki and Armed Police Force chief Narayan Datta Paudel to his office for an emergency briefing.

During the separate high-level consultations held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on July 29, Shah notably excluded Tekendra Karki, head of the National Investigation Department (NID)-the country's sole civilian intelligence agency operating directly under his office.

During the meeting with the two security chiefs, Prime Minister Shah sought answers regarding the breakdown of order in...