Former Mayor of Bhimdutta, 13 others booked for graft

KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against Surendra Bahadur Bista, the former mayor of Bhimdutta Municipality in Kanchanpur, at the Special Court on Sunday.

Bista has been charged with causing a revenue loss of Rs 33.32 million to the state by colluding with contractors while awarding contracts for the extraction of river materials. The charge sheet filed by the CIAA states that former Chief Administrative Officer Pushkar Prasad Bhatta and then officiating Chief Administrative Officer Hari Dutta Joshi were also involved in the scheme alongside Bista.

The charge sheet reveals that Bista lowered revenue on river materials, citing suggestions of a taskforce without seeking approval from the federal and provincial governments. This action resulted in a loss of Rs 33,322,583 to the state, the CIAA has stated in the charge sheet.

The CIAA is seeking the recover the lost revenue amounting to Rs 33.32 million, along with an equivalent fine from Bista, in accordance with Clause 7 (A) and (B) of the Corruption Control Act, 2002.

The CIAA has also made then Officiating Chief Administrative Officer Haridatta Joshi, Chairman of Ward No. 17 Himal Bahadur Chand, Administrative Officer Harihar Singh Dhami, Section Officer Nar Bahadur Shah, Member of the Revenue Exemption Working Group Himalaya Singh Ayer, Govindraj Upadhyay who was a witness during the contract agreement, Keshav Raj Bhatta, the directors of Bhawani Construction, and company representatives Pushpa Raj Bhatta, Diwakar Bhatta and Khageshwari Bhatta defendants in the case.