KATHMANDU, April 29: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has exerted pressure on the Kathmandu District Government Attorney Office (DGAO) to release the government employees arrested in connection with the distribution of fake driving licenses (DL). After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of the Nepal Police arrested the employees on Saturday and was preparing to present them to the District Court through the Kathmandu DGAO on Sunday, seeking judicial custody for them for investigation, the PMO intervened and pressured for their release.
After the CIB took the stand that an investigation must be carried out as the licenses were issued even in the names of dead people, the DGAO agreed to submit them to the district court. The Kathmandu District Court granted permission to the CIB to detain those employees for five days for investigation.
The CIB took them to the Kathmandu DGAO at 1 pm to seek permission from the district court to detain them for investigation. But the sources said that the DGAO's office was initially hesitant to proceed to present them to court due to pressure from the PMO.
"A few employees visited the Prime Minister's Office alleging that the CIB had overstepped its jurisdiction," a secretary said. "They conveyed that continued police interference would hamper their work."
According to that secretary, they reached the Prime Minister's Office to pressurize the release of the arrested employees who were caught in the fake DL distribution case, some of whom were joint secretaries working inside the Singha Durbar.
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CIB spokesperson Superintendent of Police (SP) Hobindra Bogati confirmed that the two individuals arrested in Kathmandu had been detained for five days following court permission for investigation. "We have secured a five-day detention for investigation," he stated. He also mentioned that an employee arrested in Butwal is being brought to Kathmandu.
The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) had requested the CIB to investigate the case of fake DL distribution, leading to the initiation of the investigation. Additionally, the DoTM had approached the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to conduct an investigation into the matter.
DoTM Director General Uddhav Rijal confirmed that a request had been forwarded to the CIB for an investigation and subsequent action. He also stated that a verbal request had been made to the DGAO for investigation. "The CIB has initiated legal action after investigating the culprits. The CIAA is also conducting its investigation. We have provided all pertinent details available to our department," Director General Rijal stated.
In connection with the fake DL distribution, the CIB has arrested Suraj Prakash Aryal, a computer engineer employed at the CIAA, and Harish Bhatta, a computer engineer with over 11 years of tenure at the DoTM, in Kathmandu, along with Narayan Pandey from Butwal.
According to the CIB, Pandey is being brought to Kathmandu from Butwal. Aryal was recently transferred from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to the CIAA for three months.
Earlier, the DoTM formed a committee under the coordination of Under Secretary Mukesh Regmi and investigated the issue of distribution of fake DLs. According to the CIB, three employees have been arrested for further investigation based on the investigation report of the DoTM. "There was a situation where we had to do something about the distribution of fake licenses. That's why we took the employees under control," CIB Spokesperson Bogati said.
It has come to light that two undersecretaries and five computer engineers from the DoTM were directly implicated in the illegal issuance of smart licenses. Shri Chandra Sah and Pabitra Dangol served as Information Technology Directors in the IT Branch of the DoTM during the period of illegal license issuance.
Similarly, Rajkumar Maharjan, Keshab Raj Gautam, Kapila Shrestha Thaiba, Santosh Pokharel and Suraj Prakash Aryal were working as computer engineers. Maharjan has since been promoted to the position of Under Secretary.
The report mentions that more than 100,000 smart DLs have been issued illegally in the past eight years. Sources said that in the report prepared by the committee formed to investigate the suspiciously stored data in the Electronic Driving License and Vehicle Registration System (EDLVRS) system, it was found that not only the technicians but also the directors were involved in the distribution of licenses in collusion. Additionally, 10 directors general have also been implicated in this case.
The investigation report's schedule indicates that the illegal license distribution flourished under lax oversight from the directors general. The period under investigation spans from 2072 BS to 2080 BS. The DoTM's investigation revealed irregular issuance of over 100,000 licenses in the past eight years. During this period, only numbers were printed on 28,000 license cards issued by transport offices, suggesting a scheme to fill in other details as needed, the source disclosed.
During this period, 102,000 service-seekers from 35 transport offices across the country were found to have obtained licenses without undergoing written tests or trials. Following this discovery, the DoTM initiated an investigation. An investigation committee, led by Mukesh Regmi, was formed to address the issuance of licenses via manipulation of the 'Electronic Driving License System' in violation of legal provisions outlined in the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act and Regulations. CIB Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Tapan Dahal was part of this investigation committee.
