Even after a week has passed since the release of the audio related to the bribery deal, the government has not shown any interest in the investigation and action, and the complaint filed three weeks ago has not been prioritized by the authority.
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The government has not shown any interest in investigation and action even though there are allegations that five or four high-ranking officials, including the minister, are involved in the bribery 'deal' case for embezzlement of land in Batulechaur area of Batulechaur in Pokhara. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has not given priority to the investigation even though it has been three weeks since the complaint was filed.
Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Minister Balram Adhikari, then Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Rajkumar Gupta, East Land Management Minister Ranjita Shrestha and former Secretary Arjun Prasad Pokharel have been accused of being involved in the conspiracy to transfer 134 ropani land of Batulechaur to land mafia and middlemen. The audio of the dialogue between the then federal affairs minister Gupta, former minister Shrestha and middleman Sujan Lama in which bribes were 'dealt' was made public a week ago.
In the second audio released on Wednesday, it is said that a bribe of 32 lakh rupees was paid to the Land Management Minister Adhikari through his son Manoj. In the first audio too, it is heard that the ministerial officer talked about 'eating money'. In the latest audio, there is a dialogue that Pokharel, the then secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, also took a bribe of five lakh rupees.
Minister of Land Management Adhikari and then Federal Affairs Minister Gupta is a member of UML's House of Representatives. Shrestha is the president of Civil Liberation Party and a member of the House of Representatives. She was the Minister of Land Management from 17 Chait 2079 to 21 February 2080. After Shrestha, Adhikari has been the Minister of Land Management since 23 February 2080.
Federal Affairs Minister Gupta resigned on Tuesday after the bribe "deal" he made with the middleman to appoint UML district leader Khem Bahadur Pun as the chairman of the Land Problem Solution Commission Kaski as per the middleman's plan was revealed. The ministerial officer involved in the bribery case held a press conference in the ministry on Thursday and insisted that he was not involved in the bribery and land case.
The Minister Adhikari has admitted that the middleman Sujan Lama met him after Lamjung was transferred to Ramchandra Adhikari, the then head of the Land Port Office Kaski. "They came with two or three people saying that Ramchandra Adhikari had to be transferred," he said, "I said that the transferred employee should not be transferred." Ramchandra was transferred to Lamjung on 21 December 2081. In the audio released on Wednesday, the middleman Lama is heard to have mentioned the meeting with the ministerial officer.
I had a meeting with the land minister yesterday. Why didn't you come earlier? I have only heard your name Sujan Bhai, you are close to all my brothers, you are like my family, why didn't you come to meet me first? The minister told me in front of Anil Marasini that if you had taken the stand of Khem Pun or Khem Pun, if you had said this five days ago, I would have done it to Khem Pun,'' Lama said in the audio.
In response to the question, 'Do you call Lama a family member?', the minister said that he said that word after saying that he knew the same place and family. He said, "I knew your brother when he came, the village is here, after he said that, there was no meeting before." Collectively, it should be on our side. He said that he would have come earlier. He said with his team,' said the ministerial officer.
Minister Adhikari has claimed that he did not meet with Lama regarding the appointment of Kaski chairman of the Land Problem Resolution Commission. In the audio of the conversation between the then minister Rajkumar Gupta, former minister Shrestha and the middleman Lama, it is heard that a bribe of 2.5 million was 'dealt' to appoint Khem Bahadur Pun as the chairman of Land Commission Kaski, taking the name of the minister's official as well. The minister appointed Bain Bahadur Gurung as the chairman of the Land Commission Kaski.
Minister Adhikari has objected to linking his ministry and his son Manoj in the bribery case. He also claimed that he had nothing to do with the people who spoke on public audio. The minister has said that he ate through corruption. They have also taken my son's name. After I did not accept what I said, they tried to assassinate me and my family's character to fulfill their wish," he said.
The middleman Lama has said in the audio that Manoj, the son of a Minister Adhikari living in New Zealand, came to Nepal and was involved in the 'setting' of the bribe. It has been said in the audio that a group of middlemen including Prakash Dahal, Aryan Sharma and others influenced the Minister Adhikari and his son Manoj when they reached Pokhara and manipulated the money to transfer the head of the Shipping Office Ramchandra Adhikari.
MP and former minister Shrestha, while he was a minister, there was a game to hand over the land to the gang, but it is suspected that after leaving the post because the work was not completed, he showed proactivity to continue the remaining work with the connivance of the gang. The details of Shrestha going to Pokhara with the then minister Gupta in the context of killing land together with middlemen have been revealed.
For this, the officer who was the chief administrative officer in Lamjung's Rainascot municipality was transferred to the chief malport officer of Kaski on 20th December 2079 in 'gang collusion'. On 24th November 2080, he was transferred to Baglung Malpot and sent to Chiranjeevi Paudel of Tanahun. Soon after, the officer who came to Kathmandu was transferred to Thamauti. Paudel was sent to Lamjung. Two months later, on 24th January 2080, the land of Lychee Bagan was retained in the name of the previous usufructuary and 33 percent of the land was transferred to the usufructuary and the rest was taken by an intermediary.
Durgadevi Shah's land, which was recovered during the Rana period, was registered in the name of her four grandsons Suraj Thakuri, Sunil Thakuri, Bhimsen Thakuri and Om Bahadur Thakuri, and then 33 percent was consumed by four people and the rest by middlemen. Officer Kaski was working at Malpot for 10 months after the document was issued, i.e. till 21 December 2081. The officer who stayed in Kaski for 2 years after posting and transfer was transferred to Lamjung Malpot on 24th December 2081 and transferred to Chiranjeevi Poudel who was in Lamjung in Kaski. Officials tried to stop that too. He went to Patan High Court against the transfer. But after the order did not come in his favor, Paudel continued in Kaski.
After Poudel came, the gang's plan did not work. Then the game of money transactions seems to have started. Attempts were also made to bring Kaski to the officials who had reached Lamjung. At the same time, it was tried to appoint Khem Bahadur Pun as the Chairman of the Land Commission. The audio of the bribe conversation that was made public seems to be from that time. In the audio, it is heard that the then Secretary of Land Management, Pokharel, accepted a bribe of 5 lakhs and took a bottle of 'whiskey' from a middleman, and ate forest chicken.
The audio of the conversation between the then Minister Gupta and the middleman and the matter related to it was investigated and a complaint was filed in the authority on June 10 to bring the person involved to the scope of action. While the report was still pending from the laboratory, the audio recording the involvement of former secretary Pokharel was also released. The authority said that leaders and employees connected with bribery cases and land embezzlement are under investigation. "We have already started the investigation on the matter related to the bribe conversation, the audio related to the bribe deal has also reached the laboratory for testing," said an official of the authority, "We are investigating the remaining matters by appointing an officer."
