KATHMANDU: In the corruption case related to the construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport, the Special Court had ordered former Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Pradeep Adhikari, to deposit bail of Rs 500,000. However, he did not pay the bail and remains in custody.
The court stated that since Adhikari is already in judicial custody in connection with another case and did not deposit the required bail amount ordered by the bench, he has been sent back to custody.
Another defendant, former director Murari Bhandari, was asked to deposit Rs 100,000 as bail. After paying the amount, he has been released.
During the detention hearing held on Tuesday before a joint bench of Judges Sudarsan Dev Bhatt and Dilli Ratna Shrestha of the Special Court, the court ordered the defendants to be released on bail — Rs 500,000 for Adhikari and Rs 100,000 for Bhandari.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed corruption cases against 55 individuals, including Adhikari and Bhandari, seeking recovery of more than Rs 8.36 billion in damages.
Earlier, the Special Court had ordered Adhikari to be sent to judicial custody for trial in the Nalinchok helipad corruption case, and he is currently being held at Dillibazar Prison. In that case, the CIAA has accused Adhikari and six others of causing losses of more than Rs 135.7 million.
Previously, Murari Bhandari had been released in the Nalinchok helipad case after depositing bail of Rs 500,000.
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