Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered the detention of former Minister for General Administration Rajkumar Gupta in connection with the Litchi Garden land case in Pokhara.
A division bench of Judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatta, Dilli Ratna Shrestha and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Wednesday.
Gupta had appeared before the court on Wednesday morning to record his statement. A detention hearing was held soon after his statement was recorded.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a charge sheet on October 8, accusing Gupta of accepting a bribe of Rs 5.3 million to stop the transfer of Ram Chandra Adhikari, then chief of the Land Revenue Office, Kaski, and another Rs 2.5 million for facilitating the appointment of Kham Bahadur Pun as chair of the Kaski chapter of the Land Problem Resolution Commission.
In a leaked audio clip, Gupta can allegedly be heard negotiating a bribe of Rs 5.3 million with a real estate entrepreneur to stop Adhikari’s transfer and Rs 2.5 million to secure an appointment to the Commission.
The CIAA launched an investigation after the audio clip became public and subsequently filed a case at the Special Court against seven individuals, including former Minister Gupta and then Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Ranjita Shrestha.
The anti-graft body has sought recovery of Rs 7.8 million each from Gupta and Shrestha.
Other defendants in the case include Sujan Kumar Tamang, Yam Kumari Gurung, Tulsiram Budha Magar, former Kaski Land Revenue Office chief Ram Chandra Adhikari, and Land Problem Resolution Commission Kaski chair Kham Bahadur Pun.
The CIAA has sought to recover Rs 7.8 million each from Tamang, Gurung, and Budha Magar, Rs 5.3 million from Adhikari, and Rs 2.5 million from Pun.
