KATHMANDU, Jan 30: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 19 individuals, including former Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Sangita Bhandari of Rapti Health Science Academy (RHSA), over alleged irregularities in the purchase of a CT scan machine worth Rs 73 million.
The case, lodged at the Special Court on Thursday, accuses the former Vice-Chancellor and other officials of misusing public funds, failing to follow procurement laws, and neglecting technical verification procedures.
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CIAA said the Technical Verification Report submitted for the procurement showed that the machine did not meet the required standards outlined in the Public Procurement Act, and the Public Procurement Regulation, 2007.
The charge sheet specified that the call to import the CT scan machine was to have the latest technology such as SAFFIRE, ASIR V, or ADIR 3D to reduce noise and radiation dose, with an image reconstruction rate of at least 60 images per second. The purchased Neusoft Neuviz 128 CT Scan Machine, however, had a cataloged reconstruction rate of only 40 images per second. The guidelines also required a peak heat dissipation rate of 1,300 KHU/min for the anode, but the machine delivered only 931 KHU/min, and the image processor did not fully comply with Windows-based operational standards.
Despite these discrepancies, RHSA approved the purchase. Later a letter of credit was issued to execute the contract, allowing the supply of the substandard machine. CIAA stated that the irregularities violated sub-section of the Sections 8 of the Corruption Control Act, 2002, amounting to embezzlement and abuse of authority.
The accused also include former acting registrar Kailash Prasad Dev, Director Dr. Sagar Panthi, Head of Radiology Dr. Bom B.C., biomedical engineers Sharad Bhandari and Ashutosh Bhandari, consultant biomedical engineer Amitkumar Chaudhary, lecturer Dr. Shrisia Pokharel, various branch officers, IT and accounts staff, a pharmacy supervisor, nurses, a physiotherapist, a computer assistant, and officials from Himalayan Meditech Pvt. Ltd., including company heads Amar Shrestha and Sanju Rajkarnikar.
CIAA has demanded the recovery of the full alleged embezzled amount of Rs 73,182,985.99 from the accused.
