Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed charge sheets against 13 individuals at the Special Court on corruption charges.
The anti-graft body has charged Om Narayan Jha, a senior section officer at the Janakpurdham-based Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation Office under the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives, with furnishing fake invoices to settle the advance taken for organizing training programs in eight districts of Madhesh Province. CIAA has sought to recover Rs 701,380 from Jha and is pursuing a prison term as per Clause 8 (1) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002.
CIAA has also filed a case against Arhula Kumari of Naishi General Order Suppliers for preparing a fake invoice for Jha. The anti-graft body is seeking to recover Rs 368,880 from Arhula Kumari.
Furthermore, CIAA has charged other 11 individuals with misappropriating funds allocated for the construction of a 7-kilometer road from Hanuman Chowk to Simalbadi in Jhana Rural Municipality of Jhapa. The defendants include Jhapa Rural Municipality Chairperson Jaya Narayan Shah, former vice-chairperson Kuntadevi Budhathoki, as well as Hari Bahadur Baniya, Netra Prasad Preti, and Motilal Ganesh, who were chairpersons of Wards 6, 7, and 3, respectively. The charge sheet also includes consumer committee officials Dhanapati Thapaliya, Fanindra Prasad Kharel, and Shantamaya Subba Limbu, among others.
The accused individuals are alleged to have released the allocated budget without constructing the road.
CIAA is seeking a prison term and fine for the defendants.
