By Our Reporter
The Special Court has convicted 12 high-profile individuals, mostly bureaucrats, while acquitting powerful politicians, including former deputy prime minister and NC leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and two other former ministers. The verdict was also silent about two former prime ministers, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai.
Together with Gachchhadar, two former ministers, Chandra Dev Joshi and Dambar Shrestha were acquitted.
The final verdict was announced after continuous hearings spanning from January 16 to February 13 with 175 defendants, including prominent figures like Gachchhadhar, Bhatbhateni Supermarket’s owner Min Bahadur Gurung, and former ministers Joshi and Shrestha.
Among the accused, 110 individuals have already been sentenced, while the latest verdict ordered the confiscation of land purchased by 65 individuals.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed the case in the Special Court on February 5, 2020.
The CIAA alleged corruption involving the misappropriation of over 136 ropanis of government land at Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar.
The main defendants in the charge sheet, including Ram Kumar Subedi, Sobhakanta Dhakal, and Min Bahadur Gurung, were identified as the masterminds and middlemen behind the land scam.
The Special Court convicted former chief commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Deep Basnyat and former secretary Chhabiraj Pant.
Former Secretary Pant, Basnyat and others have been found to have committed corruption by arranging fake mohi (tillers) under the cover of the decision of the Council of Ministers and exchanging 19 ropanis of the land in their names. Each of them was sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs. 8 million.
Further, Bhatbhateni’s owners Gurung, Ram Kumar Subedi and Shobhakant Dhakal were sentenced to two-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 8.4 million each.
The Special Court in its verdict said that the Lalita Niwa’s land which had been transferred to 65 individuals, including Kalpana Tuladhar would be confiscated and brought under the government’s registration.
However, the public is not happy with the verdict as it let big fish loose.
As per the verdict, the Special Court has ordered the government to bring land in the government’s ownership from Kalpana Tuladhar, Sharmila Shakya Bajracharya, Pragati Kansakar, the Non-Resident Nepali Association, Kamana Gurung, Kalyan Gurung, Sajjan Kumar Chachan, Devanshi Goyal, Saraswati Ghale Gurung, Sarala Ghale, Manoj Kumar Kediya, Manoj Kumar Gautam, Manti Gorkhali, Nirmala Devi Goyal and Nikita Tuladhar.
Similarly, the Court ordered to confiscate the land from Amitambh Tuladhar, Uma Prasai, Parishova Tuladhar, Renuka Bajracharya, Subista Tuladhar, Anjana Tuladhara Tamrakar, Chandrika Kansakar Tuladhar, Sanuchhori Bajracharya, Sipika Khetan, Sushma Bajracharya Shakya, Sandhya Shakya, Sangita Rakhecha (Kathori Bodhra), Nutan Shrestha, Dharmashova Shakya, Dimple Vansal, Sarita Manandhar Shrestha, Gita Gautam Khanal, Nitu Gurung, Rita Ojha Gautam, Ratnahira Bajracharya, and Pratima Vaidya Pradhan.
Likewise, it ordered to confiscate the land owned by Prabin Tamrakar, Bijaya Tamrakar, Maya Sherpa Gauchan, Maheshraja Tuladhar, Dwarika Devi Shrestha, Indradev Gurung, Indu Sharma, Sandeep Dhakal, Bhawani Joshi, Bharati Pandey, Bivek Kumar Subedi, Keshav Tuladhar, Anita Devi Kansakar, Om Birman Tamrakar, Anilman Tamrakara, Govindalal Sanghai, Gayatri Shrestha Kansakar, Panch Narayan Maharjan alias Sanukanchha, Radha Sigdel Acharya, Machababu Prajapati, Rupesh Kumar Subedi, Saroj Dhakal, Pahalman Gurung, Purushottam Paudel, Pramod Sherchan, Kanak Herbal, Achyutaraj Shrestha, Bijendra Joshi and Drilaxmi Shrestha.
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