KATHMANDU, Jan 15: It has been revealed that a person received his driving license while he was still in police custody in connection with a case of vehicular homicide, thanks to a collusion between the employees of the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) and middlemen. During an investigation into the illegal issuance of some 102,000 licenses, it was found that licenses were provided to the accused in the vehicular homicide case while they were still in custody.

Shashank Basyal who had the license for driving only two-wheelers (driver's license no. 01-08-01021749), took the lives of some people when he was driving a car. The license issued to Basyal is a 'Category A' license, which means he is allowed to drive only two-wheelers, i.e. motorcycles, mopeds, scooters etc. However, while Basyal was in prison, a 'category B' license (driver's license no. 01-08-01165504) was issued in his name.

A computer engineer working at the DoTM took a large amount of money and provided a 'B category' license to Bashyal allowing him to drive cars, jeeps and vans while he was still in custody.

A report submitted by a committee led by Mukesh Regmi, under secretary and head of the Information Technology Branch at the DoTM has recommended the handing over of the license taken by Basyal to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of Nepal Police for further investigation.

“The names of Shashank Basyal and many others of a similar nature are mentioned in point number 24 of the recommendations and suggestions section of the report. We suggest that there should be further investigation into this matter," said a member of the investigation committee headed by Regmi.

A month ago, the DoTM formed a committee under the coordination of Under Secretary Regmi, Section Officer of the department, Arjun Adhikari, IT engineer Bodhraj Baral and CIB DSP Tapan Kumar Dahal to investigate the issue of irregularities in the distribution of driving licenses.

The committee has submitted the report to the Director General of the Department, Uddhav Prasad Rijal. Director General Rijal submitted the report to the CIAA. Director General Rijal said, "The Department wants an investigation by the CIAA or other agencies, and the Department has formed an investigation committee thinking that the wrongdoers should be brought under the scope of action."

According to Department sources, the licenses were sold and distributed without going through the process in connivance with commuter operator Laxman Pandey working in Butwal Transport Office at that time, Bhabindra Karki, an officer of the Department and other people.

Earlier, the CIAA had filed a case against Karki, who was acquitted by the Special Court. Karki is back to the DoTM. It is mentioned in the report submitted by the investigation committee of Regmi that Pandey entered the records of more than 5,000 fake driving licenses into the computer. These days Pandey has been visiting the power centers to protect himself, sources said.

It is said that two under secretaries and five computer engineers of the DoTM are directly involved in the illegal distribution of smart licenses. Shrichandra Shah and Pabitra Dangol were working as Information Technology Director in the Information Technology Branch of the Department when driving licenses were distributed illegally.

Similarly, Rajkumar Maharjan, Keshavraj Gautam, Kapila Shrestha Thaiba, Santosh Pokharel and Suraj Prakash Aryal were working as computer engineers. Maharjan has been promoted to the position of an under secretary.

Aryal has now been transferred to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. He is under Maharjan at the Ministry. Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been working as a computer engineer at the IT section of the DoTM for a year.

The report mentions that more than 100,000 smart licenses were issued illegally during the last eight years. In the report prepared by the committee formed to investigate the suspiciously stored data in the Electronic Driving License and Vehicle Registration System (EDLVRS), it was found that not only the technicians, but also the directors general were involved in the distribution of licenses illegally in collusion with middlemen, according to Department sources.

It is also mentioned in the report that the business of illegal license distribution flourished when the directors general did not monitor the employees.

An investigation has been conducted into the license distribution process from 2072 BS to 2080 BS. The report recommended further investigation into the questionable employees. “We have also requested the CIAA and CIB to investigate further about the role of the directors general at that time, even if the current team is helpful, we have asked them to investigate,” said a senior employee of the Department.

 
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