Graft accused Secretary Marasini released on general date

KATHMANDU: The Special Court has released Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini on a general date.

A division bench of Special Court Judges Kushi Prasad Tharu, Ram Bahadur Thapa and Ritendra Thapa took the decision following a bail hearing on Sunday.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) charge-sheeted Marasini and eight others on the charge of allocating Rs 250 million for the procurement of a national payment gateway system by ignoring the procurement process on October 2. CIAA had sought to recover Rs 230 million from Marasini.

Marasini was serving as the Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies when the charge sheet was registered.

In the charge sheet, the CIAA has alleged that the payment gateway was purchased for Rs 250 million with an ‘unrealistic’ cost estimation without readying the necessary infrastructure.

The anti-graft body has stated in the charge sheet that state resources were misused in collusion with the then Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Chairman of NITC, Sanjaya Thapa; the then Executive Director of NITC, Pranita Upadhyaya; the then Executive Director of NITC and current Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, Sunil Poudel; the Deputy Director of NITC, Safal Shrestha; the then Chief of Budget Program Division of the Finance Ministry and current Industry Secretary, Madhu Kumar Marisini; NITC Assistant Director Ramesh Pokharel, the then Accounts Officers of NITC Nim Bahadur Oli and Ram Bahadur Budha; and the Computer Engineer of NITC, Ram Sharan Gayak.