In the incident where Rampukar Sah, the then mayor of Kalyanpur Municipality in Siraha, was caught red-handed with a bribe of Rs 100,000, the victim himself has been found to be 'hostile'.

The complainant, Jashoda Kumari, has been found to have changed her statement in the special court. The then Mayor Sah had demanded a 20 percent commission from the Consumers' Committee for the drain built at a budget of Rs 20 lakh in Bhokraha, Kalyanpur Municipality-6. However, when the Consumers' Committee could not pay the amount, Mayor Sah refused to give the check for the project. 

After a week of bargaining, Mayor Sah insisted on paying at least Rs 100,000 before accepting the check, the Consumers' Committee filed a complaint with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Bardibas. Jashoda is the chairperson of this Consumers' Committee.

Following a joint complaint filed by Jashoda and a local, Kusheshwor Sah, who had given the Consumers' Committee the responsibility of making the decision, the CIAA team arrested Sah from his office on Asad 32 while he was already taking a bribe.

After Mayor Sah was arrested, during the investigation, Jashoda told the CIAA on July 14, 'When Mayor Sah went to ask for payment after the completion of the drain work, he showed fear that he should pay at least one lakh rupees, otherwise the check would not be issued. We filed a complaint with the CIAA and gave him a bribe.'

Kalyanpur Municipality Mayor arrested with a bribe of one lakh rupees

When she went to give a statement to the CIAA, Kusheshwar's wife Kiran Kumari Sah also went with her. The CIAA also makes the statement written by the person giving the statement as much as possible. When Jashoda said that it would be difficult for her to write, the CIAA had Kiran write down what she said with Jashoda's written consent.

However, the same Jashodha, while changing her statement to the Authority, told the joint bench of Special Court President Justice Sudarshan Dev Bhatta, Justice Narayan Prasad Poudel and Justice Bidur Koirala on October 25 that she did not file a complaint with the Authority and that she did not know what she had signed on the paper. 

During the statement, Assistant Public Prosecutor Sarita Pokharel, representing the Special Government Prosecutor's Office, asked whether she knew that she had to read, listen and understand before signing any paper. Jashodha replied, 'I did not know.' When asked whether she knew that there was a provision for punishment for those who make false statements, she also said, 'I did not know.'

Meanwhile, another complainant, Kusheshwa, has accused suspended Mayor Sah of forcing Jashodha to change her statement by financially tempting her and mentally torturing her to protect himself. He said that the mayor's side also offered him up to 1.5 million rupees to change his statement, and he had to live in insecurity when he refused.

Kusheshwar held a press conference at the Reporters Club in Kathmandu on November 20, complaining that the local police administration did not provide much help. 'The mayor tried to seduce him as much as possible through various people, but after failing, he has been mentally harassing him,' he said, 'The mayor is insisting that I will come after getting acquitted from the court, then he has been telling Kushesh that he will do this and that, I have to live in fear.' 

However, suspended Mayor Sah claimed that he did not influence any complainant to change his statement. 'Initially, the woman tried to trap me under the instigation of others, but later she gave her statement after understanding the matter,' he said, 'Kusheshwar was also not pressured or threatened.'