According to the Prime Minister's Office, the CIAA filed a corruption case in the Special Court on February 10, 2001 against 15 individuals and 3 companies, including Thapa, who retired from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Urban Development.
What you should know
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is preparing to appeal the Melamchi Drinking Water Project corruption case involving Bhoj Bikram Thapa, who signed a 10-point agreement with the government on Wednesday. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has already decided to appeal to the Supreme Court against the verdict of the Special Court a year ago.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the CIAA had filed a corruption case against 15 individuals and 3 companies, including Thapa, who retired as the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Urban Development, in the Special Court on 10 Falgun 2080. In the corruption case worth 7.5 billion rupees, a fine of 323,61,663.95 paisa was imposed on Thapa and a fine and imprisonment was demanded.
The special court had acquitted 11 people, including Thapa, on 25 Bhadra 2081. The then Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water, Gajendra Thakur, the then Executive Director Ramchandra Devkota and Suryaraj Kandel, Deputy Team Leader Shiva Kumar Sharma of the project's consulting company Iptisa Company, and Di Ravena of the contractor company CMC were found guilty and the verdict was passed, demanding recovery of the amount, fine and imprisonment.
An official of the CIAA informed that since the special court's verdict was flawed, preparations are being made to go to the Supreme Court demanding that the punishment should be as mentioned in the previous charge sheet. "Since the decision on the corruption in the Melamchi drinking water project has not been made as per the demands, preparations are underway to appeal to the Supreme Court soon," he said.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki signed the 10-point agreement on behalf of the government on Wednesday. The agreement has been approved by Thursday's cabinet meeting. The agreement includes issues such as providing employment to the families and injured of Gen-G martyrs, free medical treatment, corruption control and maintaining good governance. The government has entered into the agreement by accepting the movement of 23 and 24 Bhadau as a 'people's movement'.
Thapa is said to be a relative of Ishwat Bahadur Adhikari, who was killed by police bullets in New Baneshwor on 23 Bhadau during the Gen-G movement. He had said that Ishwat is under his protection. The notice published by the government in the gazette mentions Ishwat's ancestral home as Bhanu in Tanahun and his last address as Kathmandu-11. According to the family members, Thapa is Ishwat's uncle. When asked to discuss this issue, Thapa said, "I will call you later." Thapa had formed the 'Gen-G Movement Martyr Family Struggle Committee' under his own leadership to demand relief/compensation for the families of those killed in the Gen-G movement and action against the culprits. The Struggle Committee held a press conference in Kathmandu on 23 Asoj and demanded that 'three ministries be ensured on behalf of the martyr family.' Accordingly, a proposal was submitted to the Prime Minister's Office by the Struggle Committee to make Thapa the Minister of Water Supply, Kamal Subedi, the maternal uncle of martyr Yogendra Neupane, the Minister of Youth and Sports, and Deepak Chaudhary, the brother of martyr Vijay Chaudhary, the Minister of Labor and Employment.
The Prime Minister's Office did not register this letter. Thapa, as the coordinator of the Gen-G Martyr Family Struggle Committee, issued a statement on 29 Asoj, denying the demand for three ministries.
Thapa, along with Ganesh Chaulagain, father of another martyr Shriyam Chaulagain, registered an NGO called ‘Jen-Gi Shahid Kalyankari Parivar’ at the District Administration Office, Kathmandu, claiming to do social work in the name of martyrs. Thapa is the chairman of its working committee. According to Kathmandu Chief District Officer Ishwar Raj Poudel, the organization was registered last month. During the organization registration, when the police conduct report of Thapa and other people on the working committee was submitted, it was revealed that Thapa had become a defendant in a corruption case but was acquitted by the special court, Poudel said. The three-generation details of Thapa, including his citizenship number, registered with the Kathmandu District Administration, and the three-generation details mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the CIAA in the special court are the same.
Gen-G representative Bhavana Raut said that she only came to know about Thapa’s involvement in the corruption case later. ‘He was made the coordinator of the struggle committee on behalf of the Gen-G martyr and the injured family, and after being made the coordinator, we could not interfere,’ she said, ‘We only came to know about the case after the 10-point agreement was reached.’
According to a member of the struggle committee, of which Thapa is the coordinator, Thapa was put forward for discussions with the government because he was also a government employee in the past and a relative of the martyr. ‘It was through him that we reached out to the government machinery and put our demands, and put pressure on them to work in a way that would respect the martyr,’ the member said, ‘We only came to know later that he was an employee who had been involved in cases in the past.’
According to an official of the struggle committee, of which Thapa is the coordinator, Thapa’s name came as a representative with the recommendation of the ward from the family of martyr Ishwat. ‘It is known that he is not the martyr’s parents or a person directly related to him. Thapa's name came up with the recommendation of the ward from his family to represent Ishwat. Since he was also a government employee before and was of age, we accepted him as a leader, considering him as a guardian.'
Home Ministry spokesperson Anand Kafle said that Thapa signed the agreement as a party to the agreement as he came as a representative on behalf of the Gen-G martyr family. He said that he had no other information.
