Khadgajeet Baral

Khadgajeet Baral (Nepali: खड्गजीत बराल) OGDB, OTSP (April 17, 1928 – May 19, 2021) was a Nepalese police officer, diplomat, and sports promoter who served as the Inspector General of Nepal Police, (IGP) and contributed significantly to law enforcement, diplomacy, and sports in Nepal. Appointed IGP at the age of 43, he was among the youngest to hold the position, introducing several reforms and pioneering initiatives such as the Nepal Police Flying Squad. Baral also served as Ambassador of Nepal to Burma, Indonesia and French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam), and as a chief liaison officer of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

As a prominent figure in sports promotion, he played a key role in developing judo, hockey, and badminton spheres in Nepal. He remained active in community service and sports after his retirement.

Khadgajeet Baral was promoted to Inspector General of Police (IGP) at age 43, becoming one of the youngest police chiefs in the history of Nepal. He was the first post graduate police officer recommended by the then 'National Public Service Commission' to His Majesty's Government as the Inspector-General of Police.

IGP Baral and his predecessor, IGP Rom Bahadur Thapa, are the only pair to remain chiefs for six years, the standard tenure being four years.

During his tenure as police chief, Baral was recognized for his significant contributions to the administrative sectors of the Nepal Police. The establishment of the Kanun Sakha and Engineering Sakha in the Nepal Police Headquarters are a few of his accomplishments. He established the Nepal Police Mountaineering & Adventure Foundation; it conquered many Himalayan peaks, exclusively by Nepalese mountaineers; the Tukuche Himal (6,921m) and Pabil Himal (7,104m) conquered in 1976 A.D. and 1978 A.D. respectively, are prime examples. The construction of the Birendra Police Hospital (present-day Nepal Police Hospital) also commenced in his tenure.G.P. Baral's remarkable establishment of the Nepal Police Flying Squad in 1975, which consisted of four imported state-of-the-art vehicles from China and about a dozen elite Nepalese officers, for crime prevention, is considered admirable even now.

I.G.P. Baral was a major reformist in Nepal Police. He had made rations available to all the low-ranking police personnel and made the provision of barracks possible. To manage the traffic in the Kathmandu valley, he introduced 'Mounted Police', i.e. traffic police officers on horses.

During the reign of the then King Birendra, Khadgajeet Baral had been appointed the Royal Ambassador of Nepal to Burma (Myanmar) for six years.

Khadgajeet Baral was accredited as the Royal Ambassador of Nepal to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at the same time when he was the ambassador to Myanmar.

During Ambassador Baral's six-year tenure as an accredited ambassador to French Indo-China and Indonesia, political tension arose between the neighboring countries Indonesia and Malaysia. K.J.S. Baral used this opportunity to establish diplomatic relations between Nepal and Indonesia.

Baral also served as the Vice-President of the Nepal Badminton Association after he retired from law enforcement.

Baral served as the President of the Nepal Judo Association for six years during the 1990s. During his tenure as president, many reforms were introduced in Nepalese Judo. During the second 'Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championship' of 1995, President Baral led a Judo team from Nepal to compete in the championship.

Baral is responsible for introducing hockey and making it famous in Nepal, and as such, is regarded as the Pioneer of Nepalese Hockey.

Rtd. Hon. Khadgajeet Baral was an active member of "The Rotary Club Of Pashupati" and an active golfer at the Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC).

• Official website of Nepal Police
• Official Website Of District 3292
• Official Facebook Page of IGP K.J.S. Baral
• Himalayan Times 2009