Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Special Court has sentenced former Secretary Gajendra Thakur to eight years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 101.06 million.
A division bench of the Special Court Chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar and members Tejnarayan Singh Rai and Murari Babu Sreshta announced the quantum of punishment for Thakur and four others who were convicted of corruption in the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP).
Although the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a corruption case against 15 individuals, the Special Court convicted Thakur and four others on September 9. Ten individuals charge-sheeted by the CIAA were acquitted by the Special Court.
Likewise, the Special Court sentenced former Executive Director of MWSP, Surya Raj Kandel, to eight years in prison and fined him Rs 101.06 million.
Similarly, the Special Court has sentenced former Executive Director Ram Chandra Devkota and Shiva Kumar Sharma, the team leader of consultant company IPTISA, to eight years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 29.56 million each. Sharma’s jail term has been reduced by two years considering his old age.
The Special Court has also slapped a fine of Rs 62.19 million each on consulting companies EPTISA and Bates. Likewise, Italian company CMC has been handed a fine of Rs 261.16 million.
The CIAA had filed a corruption case against 15 individuals, including three government secretaries, on February 18.
