KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case at the Special Court against eight government officials and four passport holders for illegally issuing passports with altered ages.
According to the CIAA, employees of the Gauriganj Area Administration Office in Jhapa allegedly collected money online to recommend passports and even threatened complainants during the process.
Investigation revealed discrepancies between the birth dates on passports issued between mid-July and mid-October 2022 and the dates recorded in citizenship certificates. In several cases, ages were altered by five to eight years, either increased or decreased.
The most significant cases involved passport holders Binod Kunwar, Simant Bishwakarma, Govind Prasad Dhungel, and Balram Mahato, whose passports contained birth dates that differed from their citizenship records. Evidence of age alteration was also found in their national identity cards.
CIAA stated that the former head of Gauriganj Area Administration Office, Chudamani Apgai, deputy subba Rabin Kumar Rajbanshi, computer operator Akash Magar, and office assistant Jeevan Dahal have been charged under Section 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act, with imprisonment and fines sought.
Similarly, former administrative officers Laxmi Prasad Kharel and Keshav Prasad Rizal, involved in passport issuance in 2013 at the Jhapa District Administration Office, are also facing charges under the same section.
The four passport holders, Binod Kunwar, Simant Bishwakarma, Govind Prasad Dhungel, and Balram Mahato, have been charged under Section 22 of the Anti-Corruption Act for illegally benefiting from the altered passports.
CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel stressed that unauthorized alterations in official documents are a grave offense, undermining the credibility of government records, and necessitate strict legal action.
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