KATHMANDU, August 4: While the rumor of the government giving the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police the task of investigating the 100 kg gold smuggling case has spread like a wildfire, Nepal Police has denied it.
Some online media outlets on Friday reported that Prime Minister Dahal instructed the CIB to conduct further investigation into the gold smuggling case during a meeting with Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka, Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel, Inspector General of Police Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, CIB Chief Kiran Bajracharya and Director General of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) Nawa Raj Dhungana on Thursday evening.
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However, Nepal Police Spokesperson DIG Kuber Kadayat refuted the news reports. “Nepal Police hasn’t been given the task of investigating the 100 kg gold smuggling case yet,” he informed Republica.
In the meeting, PM Dahal instructed various bodies to facilitate the investigation, however, it was concluded forming a task force into an investigation already being done by a government office would convey a negative message.
The DRI seized 155 kilos of scooter and motorcycle brake shoes containing gold, which had passed the customs check at the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 19.
The main opposition CPN-UML has been obstructing the meeting of both the houses of the federal parliament demanding that a separate parliamentary probe committee be formed to conduct investigation into the case of 100 kg gold smuggled on July 18 while suspecting the government’s involvement in the gold scandal. With this demand, the CPN-UML has not allowed the meeting of the House of Representatives to proceed since July 26.
However, the government refused to form a high-level committee to investigate the recent case of gold smuggling, arguing that the formation of the new committee might affect the ongoing investigation progress. According to Rekha Sharma, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, DRI has almost reached the root cause behind the biggest gold scam. "A high-level committee is not necessary as the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has taken charge," said Sharma, speaking at a press meet on Thursday.
