A two-member CIAA investigation team led by Deputy Attorney Rajendra Kumar Shrestha reached the police headquarters and seized all 10 files related to the deal on purchasing the jackets.
The anti-graft body conducted the raid after receiving complaints of irregularities worth Rs 50 million while procuring 56,059 pieces of jackets.
The CIAA decided to conduct the raid and seize the papers from the procurement section of the Police Headquarters two days ago. “We mobilized the team and seized key documents based on the a tip off about the irregularities,´´ said Acting CIAA Chief Commissioner Lalit Bahadur Limbu.
Police headquarters had awarded a tender worth Rs 100 million to supply the jackets to Ananda Trade Concern (ATC) some three weeks ago. The company is run by Deepak Bhatta, a person close to police chief Ramesh Chanda.
A complaint filed at the CIAA claimed that ATC was awarded with the contract despite the fact that it had quoted a higher price for the supply than the other bidders. Altogether 10 companies had applied the bid.
According to a preliminary investigation conducted by the CIAA, the lowest bidder was New Siddha Deurali Traders. The company had proposed Rs 839 for a piece of jacket, whereas ATC had proposed nearly Rs 1,100. The price of each jacket supplied by ATC once the VAT is included comes to be around Rs 2,400.
“Our preliminary report shows that nearly Rs 50 million seems to have been embezzled” a source at CIAA told myrepublica.com.
Limbu said they will first thoroughly study the papers they have seized. “If we find anything wrong we will ask the police to furnish additional documents related to the deal,” he said. “We will grill other police officers involved to clarify the deal.”
Limbu said CIAA will ask for explanation from senior police officers regarding the issues of irregularities raised so far. “We will summon the police chief and other senior officers concerned if deemed necessary,´´ he said.
Eight other companies who had applied for the tender had quoted a price in between Rs 850 to Rs 1,000 for a piece of jacket.
Meanwhile, Nepal Police spokesperson Binod Singh said the CIAA might have taken the documents for necessary investigation, but he denied making any further comment.
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