Kathmandu, Nov. 4 -- As Nepal's police chief, Dan Bahadur Karki kept reminding the prime minister's secretariat what the law allowed. Ultimately, that became a reason he lost the job, multiple government officials told Kantipur.

On Wednesday afternoon, an emergency Cabinet meeting removed Inspector General of Police Karki from his post and made him security adviser to the prime minister, a move the government insists is not punitive. But accounts from officials at the prime minister's secretariat and at Police Headquarters point to deeper causes: Karki's handling of the Inam Sapkota investigation, his resistance to orders for immediate arrests, and a long-standing wish in Balendra Shah's camp to see AIG Manoj KC lead the force.

After th...