A claim has been made against the defendants demanding a fine of Rs. 3,117,089, recovery of the embezzled amount, and imprisonment.
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A corruption case has been filed against seven people, including Arjun Prasad Sapkota, the then acting director of the Health Supply Management Center, Hetauda, on charges of irregularities in the procurement of health equipment.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case in a special court on Monday against the then acting office-bearer Sapkota, along with the accounting officer Radhakrishna Shrestha, the then pharmacy supervisor Rajeshwor Ranjitkar, the then refrigerator technician Rabindra Kumar Mahato, the then biomedical engineer Rajeshwor Kamali, the then accounting officer of the Bagmati Province Accounting Controller's Office, Hetauda, Netranasingh Karki, and the proprietor of the supplier company Janmukti Health Enterprises, Nawaraj Shrestha.
According to the CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Poudel, a fine of Rs 3,117,089 has been imposed on the defendants, recovery of the embezzled amount, and imprisonment. According to Poudel, a lump sum of Rs 3,117,089 has been imposed on the defendants. Similarly, separate fines have been imposed on Karki, the provincial accounting controller, and contractor Shrestha. The Authority had investigated the Health Supply Management Center for alleged irregularities in the procurement of personal protective equipment used by health workers for the fiscal year 2078/79.
The investigation revealed that the contract was awarded to Shrestha's firm, which had bid higher than the bid of the firm that had bid lower than the bid, in collusion with the government and embezzlement of government funds.
The allocation was made from the Rs 20 million allocated for the management of personal protective equipment required against COVID-19 in health institutions under the province. After that, when various supply companies competed in the bid to purchase 13 health supplies, the contract was awarded to Shrestha's Janmukti, which had bid the highest, and a case was filed after the highest bid was fixed as the amount. Out of 7 companies competing in the bid, when the bid was opened on 17 Magh 2078, the contract was awarded to Janmukti, which submitted the highest bid of Rs 12.44 million. The Authority has stated that the case was filed by fixing the amount of the highest bid as the amount of the lowest bidder. The Authority's charge sheet states that there was collusion between the contractor, the Comptroller's Office, and the employees of the Health Supply Management Center and the contractor to award the contract to the highest bidder.
