Special Court finds seven people including Land Revenue officer guilty of corruption

KATHMANDU, April 2: The special court has found seven people, including Manohar Prasad Panthi, the Land Revenue officer at Land Revenue office, Nawalparasi, guilty of corruption.

The court convicted them of corruption on Friday in connection with their involvement in selling the public land in the name of Lumbini Gas Pvt. Ltd.

A division bench of judges Srikant Paudel and Khushi Prasad Tharu declared those who sold government land in the name of individuals as corrupt. 

Four years ago, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had registered a case demanding a penalty of Rs 28.6 million from the accused.

The court sentenced Manohar Prasad Panthi, an officer of the Land Revenue office, Nawalparasi, to 11 years in prison along with a fine of Rs 1.87 million.  Similarly, both Jeevlal Bhusal, Non-gazetted second class employee of Land Revenue office and Computer Operator Ezaz Khan have been sentenced to 10 months imprisonment along with fine of Rs 1.87 million.

Likewise, Sudan Shrestha, who is involved in buying and selling land, has been sentenced as a fraudster. He has been sentenced to six months imprisonment and Rs 933,333 in fine. Deepak Sunar has also been found guilty. He has been sentenced to one year imprisonment and Rs 933,333 in fine.

In collusion with the employees of the Land Revenue office, the government and public land was sold illegally. The CIAA had registered a case against Lumbini Gas Udyog Pvt. It has been found that the fake land owner registration of the land was made of 2-15-2 bigah area of 5 lot No. 24 in the old Tilakpur village of Nawalparasi. A company was set up in the public land sold illegally.

In the charge sheet, Deepak Sunar, who acted corruptly by influencing the employees of the Land Revenue Office in Parasi, made a fake land owner registration in his own name and sold it in the name of Lumbini Gas Pvt. Gaindakot, Nawalparasi. The CIAA registered a case in the special court on October 28, 2018.