KATHMANDU, Feb 25: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed graft cases against 17 individuals at the special court on Friday.

The commission has filed a case against seven people including the former chairman of the school management committee of Shree Sai Kumari Basic School located in Tharpu Digre of Musikot Municipality-5, Rukum West. According to the commission, it received complaints against Gobinda Bahadur KC, the former chairman of the management committee of the school, as well as the then headmaster of the school and other office bearers that they had misused the funds of the school.

Upon investigation, the CIAA found that chairman KC and the headmaster of the school, Lal Bahadur KC, took  decisions on different dates and convinced the school management committee to give loans of Rs 894,000 to various individuals, road construction committees and even forest users groups. Thus, CIAA filed a case against them seeking a fine of Rs 894,000. The anti-graft body said that Dron Bahadur Khatri, chairman of a  local road construction consumers’ committee and Maya KC, treasurer, attended the meeting of the school management committee and signed documents to receive the loan.

According to the commission, they committed corruption by not depositing the money in the school’s account as well as not building the road. However, as Chairman Khatri is already dead, he cannot be jailed or punished. 

According to the Prevention of Corruption Act 2059 BS, there is a legal provision in which the government can compensate the school. The funds misused by Khatri will be recovered from his wife Putla Khatri, his sons Binod KC, Bibek KC and Bishal KC.

Likewise, CIAA has filed a case against then Acting Chief Administrative Officer Lalit Jung Malla, Engineer Padam Bahadur Budha and Sub-Overseer Gad Bahadur Budha of Chayannath Rara municipality-11 of Mugu based on the complaint of misappropriation of money by making a fake bills during the construction of a wall at a local health post.

On the basis of the complaint submitted to the commission, it has been confirmed that corruption was committed during the construction of the wall by creating false survey report, a report on the completion of the work and a false compensation and payment receipt of Rs 757. The commission has filed a case against them demanding compensation equivalent to the embezzled amount.

Similarly, Suntala Rokaya, the then deputy head of the same municipality and coordinator of the monitoring committee, Chakra Bahadur Rawat, the then ward chairman of the ward office and member of the monitoring committee, Hajarkala Kami and Harini Nepali, members of the executive committee and members of the monitoring committee were involved in the act of giving false monitoring report and receiving payment.

Likewise, according to CIAA, Dhan Bahadur Buda, the then chairman of same municipality ward no. 11 has been accused of embezzlement of Rs 757,307 by making false report. The president of consumer committee Jeevan Bahadur Budha, secretary Kesh Bahadur Budha and treasurer Srijana Badhuwal embezzled Rs 757,307 by falsely claiming compensation during the construction of the wall of the health post. The commission has stated that a case has been filed against them with a demand to recover the embezzled amount.

 
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