Lok Bahadur Khattri was the Chief District Officer (CDO) in Dang, when the Maoists attacked last month. He has since been transferred to the Immigration Department in Kathmandu. It is natural for people to ask what could be happening to the police chief of the district, Gopal Bhandari. ASP Bhandari, we are told, is being kept in the barracks, under watch. Officials suspect he aided the Maoists and so, besides his family, no other person has been allowed to meet him. As soon as the Maoists attacked Dang and killed four policemen on duty, Bhandari is said to have thrown down his walkie-talkie and pistol and surrendered. After that, he is said to have rung up the army barracks and asked them to keep the doors open, as he was headed that way. Sometime after that, the Maoists, using Bhandari's official vehicle drove into the army compound, sirens blaring. The CDO and police chief used to visit the barracks before the attack. On the day of the attack, after Bhandari called to say he was coming over, the army left the gates open. Thousands of Maoists had gathered in Tulsipur and had come to Dang on buses and trucks. Bhandari did not inform the army about their movements, although there are police posts along key entry points.