KATHMANDU: The government has suspended the head of Tribhuvan International Airport Civil Aviation Office (TIA CAO) following the emergence of an audio recording in which he is heard asking for a bribe from an airline representative.
Issuing a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation said it has directed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to immediately suspend Prem Nath Thakur, the general manager of TIA CAO, following allegations of soliciting illegal favors from a representative of Thai Smile Airlines.
According to the statement, the ministry has forwarded the file to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the constitutional anti-graft body, for further investigation.
Thakur was appointed to the post in February, 2020.