Joint Secretary Bhattarai arrested on graft charges

KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has taken Tirtharaj Bhattarai, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, into custody.

A CIAA team detained Bhattarai from the home ministry premises on Wednesday afternoon.

“The CIAA team arrested Bhattarai from the ministry a short while ago,” a source at the home ministry said.

Bhattarai, who was serving as the Chief Immigration Officer at the Tribhuvan International Airport, was transferred to the home ministry on Tuesday evening only.

The CIAA made the arrest on the basis of complaints that Bhattarai solicited payments in exchange for facilitating overseas travel arrangements for individuals on visit visas. He has been accused of collecting money from people traveling to Dubai and other labor destinations under such arrangements.

Bhattarai has been taken to CIAA’s office in Tangal, Kathmandu, for questioning.