Nearly a month after the fact that over Rs 3.8 million was embezzled at the Basic Health Service Hospital in Chandrauta, the police have intensified the investigation. Five people were arrested on Tuesday on charges of being involved in the embezzlement of funds from the hospital being run by the Shivraj Municipality in Chandrauta.

During the audit of the last fiscal year 2081/82, the embezzlement of funds came to light after Rs 3.8 million 19 thousand 770 that should have been deposited in the hospital's account at the Chandrauta branch of Nepal Bank Limited were not shown. However, auditor Laxman Niraula said that despite finding 129 vouchers showing that the amount had been deposited, the amount should be recovered as the amount was not shown in the bank statement.

After the incident of embezzlement of funds came to light, Shivraj Municipality Chief Ajay Thapa wrote a letter to the Ward Police Office, Chandrauta on April 4. They had filed a petition asking for strict legal action against the guilty parties in order to investigate the embezzlement of funds and forged vouchers. However, the police did not show much interest in the petition as it was more informational and informative than actionable. After a month had passed, criticism and criticism against the municipality at the local level was increasing.

After this, the municipality took action by actively investigating the embezzlement and decided to file a complaint at the executive meeting of Shivaraj Municipality on Sunday. After this, the Hospital Management Committee Chairman and Ward No. 5 Ward President Netra Belbase filed a complaint against four hospital employees, Medical Superintendent Dr. Amit Pandey, the then Chief of Administration Birendra Mishra, and pharmacists Laxman Rijal and Ruksana Khatun, at the Ward Police Office, Chandrauta on Monday. As soon as the complaint was registered, the police went to Maharajgunj Municipality-1, where the hospital's Medical Superintendent Dr. Pandey and hospital pharmacist Khatun, who lives in Shivaraj Municipality-5, were arrested, said District Police Spokesperson DSP Ripendra Kumar Singh.

As new facts emerged from the arrests, the police have taken up the investigation by taking a supplementary complaint from the hospital chairman Belbase naming some more people. Three more people have been arrested on the basis of the supplementary complaint. The arrested include Chudamani Bhattarai, the head of the health department of Shivaraj Municipality, who lives in Naminagar, Tulsipur Sub-metropolitan City-5, Dang; Kamal Prasad Bhandari, the cashier of Nepal Bank Limited Chandrauta branch, who lives in Satyawati Rural Municipality-5, Gulmi; and Bikram KC, an office assistant who was working in the Chandrauta branch of the bank and is now transferred to the Manigram branch of Rupandehi, who was a resident of Shivaraj Municipality-3, Madawa. The five people have been arrested and brought under investigation. The investigation has been initiated after receiving 7-day remand from the court. The then administration chief Birendra Mishra (currently in-charge of Shivgadhi health post) and pharmacist Laxman Rijal, who were the subject of the complaint, are absconding.

There are two sides to this incident. One is a hospital employee and the other is a bank employee. However, the hospital employee was pulled into the investigation after the investigation conducted by the bank's head office reported that no errors or weaknesses were found in the bank employees. 'The current investigation will lead to a conclusion,' he said, 'The initial investigation is very positive.'

There is a record of 129 vouchers deposited in the Chandrauta branch of Nepal Bank Limited within a year, mentioning the names of various people working in the hospital. However, the bank has stated that the vouchers deposited in the bank had a fake signature and a fake seal of the employee who received the money at the bank. It has been found that unnecessary verification marks have been made on the voucher and the name of one person who goes to deposit money and another person is written on the voucher. The rubber stamp on the voucher and the rubber stamp used by the bank are different. This has also increased the suspicion of irregularities.