Kathmandu, Nov. 3 -- One day in April 2024, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal summoned the then home secretary to discuss what the latter described as "administrative issues and procurement matters, including arms and weapons."

The meeting ran past 11 that night. When the secretary finally left, he was ushered through an alternative door that opened into another room.

A man was sitting there. The man was Deepak Bhatta.

"He was waiting," the secretary, who has since retired, told Kantipur, recalling events from that night.

The secretary, Ek Narayan Aryal, did not say why Bhatta was there. But the scene itself was familiar. On several occasions, he said he had seen ministers and senior government officials wait outside while Bh...