KATHMANDU: Badri Prasad Neupane, former chief of Chure Bhawar Rastriya Ekta Party and convicted in a corruption case, has joined the Nepali Communist Party (NCP).
Neupane was found guilty by the Special Court for the Fun Park land lease case in Bhrikutimandap, where he served as Minister for Women, Children, and Social Welfare. The court had sentenced him on March 10, 2023, to nine years and six months in prison and fined him Rs 24.3 million, in addition to recovering an equivalent amount in damages.
Despite the verdict, Neupane has remained free. The Special Court bench, comprising former Chair Shrikant Paudel, and members Shaligram Koirala and Balbhadra Bastola, convicted Neupane and eight others in the case.
The case stems from allegations that Neupane leased 60 ropani of Bhrikutimandap land, owned by the Social Welfare Council, to Fun Park at a below-market rate, causing financial loss to the institution. A total of 14 individuals, including Neupane and former Congress minister Tek Bahadur Gurung, were charged by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in February 4, 2019.
While Gurung was fined Rs 12.1 million and remains politically active, Neupane’s conviction included the same prison term and equivalent damages. Other accused in the case, including Pramod Mehta, Hari Neupane, Mohanraj Sharma, and Madan Kumar Lal Karna, received prison terms ranging from eight to eight and a half years.
Originally from Atrouli, Harivan-2, Sarlahi, Neupane gained prominence during the Madhesh Movement and later formed the Chure Bhawar Party. Over the years, he has shifted political affiliations several times, moving from Nepali Congress to CPN, then to CPN-UML, and briefly remaining independent. He had supported the Maoists during the 2022 federal and provincial elections, and now formally joins the NCP under the leadership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
NCP leadership welcomed Neupane into the party on Tuesday.
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