KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the Special Court against five individuals, including former Gadhawa Rural Municipality Chairperson Sahaj Ram Ahir, on charges of embezzling public revenue.
The anti-graft body also named Sagun Construction and Engineering Pvt. Ltd. of Butwal as a defendant in the case.
According to CIAA spokesperson Suresh Neupane, the case relates to the collection and extraction of riverbed materials from various locations in Wards 1 and 2 of Gadhawa Rural Municipality during the 2019/20 fiscal year.
The CIAA alleges that after inviting bids for the contract, municipal officials negotiated directly with the contractor and issued official cash receipts bearing the municipality’s seal and signature without signing a formal agreement, resulting in the misappropriation of a significant amount of government revenue.
Those charged include former Chief Administrative Officer Lal Bahadur Yogi, former Revenue Section Chief Shambhu Chaudhary, Sagun Construction and Engineering Pvt. Ltd. of Rupandehi, the company’s Managing Director Sahadev Khadka, and its representative Bikash Pun, also known as Biras Pun.
The CIAA has accused the defendants of causing revenue losses to the state through irregularities in the contracting and revenue collection process and has sought legal action through the Special Court.
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