The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed a corruption case against 7 people including two former ministers Rajkumar Gupta and Ranjita Shrestha in connection with the land grabbing of litchi garden in Batulechaur, Pokhara. Ex-minister Balram Adhikari and ex-secretary Arjun Prasad Pokharel, who were involved in bribery transactions, have been given immediate immunity as they will file another charge.

After the audio of the bribe deal with the plan to grab 134 ropani of litchi plantation was released last June, the authority started investigation and filed a case in the special court on Wednesday. Former General Administration Minister Gupta, who is also a UML leader, and Chairman of Civil Liberation Party and Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Shrestha have been prosecuted for demanding 78 lakh rupees. 

53 lakhs against the then chief cargo officer Ramchandra Adhikari, 78 lakhs against the middleman Sujankumar Tamang, 25 lakhs against Khem Bahadur Pun who was involved in the case, 78-78 lakhs against Yamkumari Gurung and Tulsiram Budhamgar. The authority has also demanded imprisonment according to the Corruption Prevention Commission Act against the seven people who were prosecuted. 

According to the authority, a separate investigation is being conducted on UML leader officer and former secretary Pokharel, who was the Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation when the bribe transaction took place in December 2081. It is alleged that the officer took 32 lakhs and Pokharel 5 lakhs as well as alcohol and two forest chickens.

The middleman Tamang had mentioned in the audio that the bribe was paid through Manoj, the officer's son. It is also mentioned in the charge sheet of the authority that Subba Deepak Subedi, Deputy of the Port Office Kaski, made Chiranjeevi Poudel the head of the Port Office Kaski by spending 70 lakhs, and that Poudel made him buy air tickets four times from the customer.

A separate investigation is also going to be conducted on the issue of Shrestha, the chairman of Civil Immunity Party, taking 11 lakh bribe. According to the authority, the bribe taken by Shrestha was heard in the audio collected by Roshan Lohani on his behalf. 

Tamang, the middleman who recorded the audio of the conversation regarding bribery with the then Minister Gupta and former Minister Shrestha, claimed to have given money to the then ministerial officer as well. The officer was said to be in charge of finding and managing potential employees who would decide on the land for the litchi plantation. The middleman Tamang also took the names of two relatives of the officials in the case of land registration and management of favorable persons at the customs office in Kaski. But the authority has said that there is no evidence to confirm their case. 

The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli asked Gupta to resign from the post of minister on June 31 after the investigation into the bribery case. Even though he was involved in the bribery case, the then Minister of Land Management Adhikari was a minister until last August 24. Civil Liberties Chairman Shrestha was the Minister of Land Management from 17 Chait 2079 to 21 February 2080. According to a leader close to him, the then Prime Minister Oli had promised to protect Shrestha from the case as a condition of supporting the government.

On 18 December 2081, after the transfer of Chief Land Officer Ramchandra Adhikari of Kaski, the middleman received 53 lakh rupees to facilitate his transfer and Khem Bahadur Pun to be appointed as the chairman of Land Problem Resolution Commission Kaski, it has been found in the investigation of the authority that there was a bribe-giving action of 25 lakh rupees. In the evening of 28 December 2081, middleman Tamang, the then Minister Gupta, former Minister Shrestha were again together at Minister Niwas Bhainsepati, Lalitpur, it is mentioned in the charge sheet of the authority.

According to the sources, the middleman took the audio to the Prime Minister's Office and the authority after the problem started in getting the transfer of the Chief Malport Officer to Thamauti. But even knowing about this, the Prime Minister remained silent. The audio of the bribe transaction was released through the media in the second week of June. 

When the officer was the head of the shipping office of Kaski, the land grabbing game of the litchi plantation was in progress. It is mentioned in the authority's charge sheet that the then minister Gupta, former minister Shrestha, along with Tamang, went to Pokhara to see the land. According to the authority, Tulsiram Budhamgar deposited 1 crore on 29th June in an account opened on 28th June 2081 in the name of Yamkumari Gurung at Garima Bikas Bank, which was run by middleman Tamang. 75 lakhs was deposited again on 32 June.

The land grabbing phenomenon was not completed on 18th December 2081 by the Secretary level decision of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, the officer was transferred to the Land Office Lamjung. Chiranjeevi Poudel was appointed as the head of Kaski. After seeing that there was no work from Poudel, middlemen and others tried to stop the transfer by giving bribes. 

According to the authority, the then General Administration Minister Gupta had repeatedly instructed the Secretary of the Federal Affairs and General Administration Ministry to transfer Paudel from the Ministry of Land Management to other ministries and transfer the officer back to Kaski. Gupta called the secretary to his secret room and gave instructions in front of Ranjita Shrestha. 

What is the litchi garden case?

vs. In 1979, Rudrashamsher named his Birta in Batulechaur in the name of his two daughters Lokdivyashwari and Durgadevi. Birta was abolished in 2016. Even though there is a provision to convert the land acquired by the Birta into Raker, the Rana family does not seem to have done so. Lokdivyashwari was married to Khemvikram Shah of Palpa Tansen and Durgadevi was married to Tek Bahadur Shah.

From 2017, Thakali, who descended from Mustang, bought land from the Rana family based on a deed and settled a settlement. On the other hand, Lokdivyashwari Shah and Durgadevi Shah filed a case of forgery and written badr against 6 people including Hariprata Jang Rana. On 29 March 2031, the Kaski court judgment and on 3 January 2040, the then Western Division Bench ruled in favor of Lokdivyaswari and Durgadevi. Mustangi, who enjoyed the rights until 2032, took out Lalpurja in his name after Napi came in 2033. The land was also sold. Then in 2059 a new surveyor became. 

40 years after the verdict, Suraj Shah Thakuri, Sunil Shah Thakuri and daughter-in-law of Durgadevi Shah, claiming to be the grandson of Durgadevi Shah, filed a petition on 24th March 2080 at the Malpot Office for the execution of the decision. In the middleman Sujan Tamang's activity, the claim was raised and submitted to the Malpot Office. 

Durgadevi Shah died on 5 Baisakh 2059 and her husband Tek Bahadur had already died. It is mentioned in the petition submitted to the Malpot that the land no. 25, 26 and 28 within the 4 parcels mentioned in the court's decision should be canceled and the land owner's evidence should be obtained.

Earlier on 9 August 2080, Mrigendra Malla applied to the Malpot Office as the heir of Lokdivyashwari's son Bharatavikram Shah and his wife Chumman Shah. But the application was rejected as the process was not complete. According to the court's decision, the Ministry of Land Reforms and Cooperatives sent a letter to the Land Port Office Kaski on 12th June 2080 to implement the decision to determine the land and bring it to the rightful owners. 

Durgadevi's grandchildren filed an application on 24th January 2080, on the same day that the land was registered, it was also found in the agreement that the land was divided between the middleman and the established rights holders. In the agreement registered at the ward office of Pokhara-16, it is mentioned that Dev Bahadur Malla and Yamkumari Gurung of Syangja will bear all the expenses incurred in registering the land.