Police arrested six individuals on April 13 in connection with the vandalism of the Hetauda Hospital signboard. According to the hospital administration, a group of people entered the hospital premises at around 10:30 AM on April 13 and vandalized the hospital’s signboard, including removing the name of the Madan Bhandari Foundation written on it. The hospital administration filed a complaint at the District Police Office the same day.
According to DSP Shyamu Aryal, the vandalizers themselves contacted the District Police Office on April 17. Among the arrested were Bishal Raj Mahat,40, of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City–5, Sunil Giri,50, of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-4, Safal Adhikari, 40 of ward no.7, Rajkumar Ghimire, 38, of Makwanpur Gadhi–5, Asmit Adhikari,32, and Samundra Dahal, 35. They have been remanded to custody for five days by the District Court for further investigation. Bishal Raj, Rajkumar, Asmit, and Samundra, who were arrested in connection with the incident, are members of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party. Similarly, Sunil Giri serves as the Chairperson of the Nepal Tarun Dal, Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan Committee, while Safal Adhikari is the Secretary of the CPN (Unified Socialist), Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan Committee. Earlier, on April 15, the police had also taken control of the van used during the vandalism at the hospital.
After federalism was implemented, the Bagmati Province Government brought Hetauda Hospital (previously the District Hospital) under the Madan Bhandari Institute of Health Sciences. As authorities continue to develop it into a teaching hospital by expanding services and improving infrastructure, some political parties, affiliated organizations, and various groups have repeatedly demanded the separation of the hospital from the institute. The same group removed the name “Madan Bhandari” from the hospital board, which had been placed under the Madan Bhandari Institute of Health Sciences. According to the District Police Office, those arrested have been charged with public offense for forcefully vandalizing government property and erasing the name from the board.