The Nepal Police has put fugitive former physical infrastructure minister of Karnali and contractor Khadga Bahadur Khatri in the wanted list.
Khatri, who was elected to the provincial assembly from Surkhet-1(B) on a CPN-UML ticket, is currently absconding after the Patan High Court issued an arrest warrant on a banking offense case last Monday. He has been put on the wanted list after he did not report to the court within the stipulated deadline that expired on Sunday.
"We were instructed to produce him through the public prosecutor. We tried to do that but the provincial government did not act on our letter and he also did not report on his own," an officer with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police said.
The CIB has put him in the wanted list and is preparing to file a forgery case after he ignored the court order. "The ex-minister did not honor the headline. He will face the repercussions," the officer added. " A CIB team has already been mobilized to arrest him for forging government documents."
Khatri, who provided bank guarantee for a contract, has been accused of forging documents for two bank guarantee worth Rs 11 million.
Karnali government has already removed him from the cabinet.
Khatri has five road contracts worth around Rs 700 million in the province in a clear case of conflict of interest.
KSK Construction owned by Khatri, his kid brother Lokesh and another Surya Khatri, is constructing Botechaur-Dharapani road (Rs 168.20 million), Suwaghat-Pipaltar road (Rs 124.50 million), Ratnarajmarga-Nayagaun-Sanosurkhet road (Rs 217.40 million), Pipira-Deutibajyai-Amritdanda road (Rs 173.0 million) and Mathillo Dungeshwore-Dullu-Pipalkot road (Rs 18.70 million).
Khatri, as physical infrastructure minister, had been overseeing these contracts as a line minister in a clear case of conflict of interest. Khatri's ministry had been monitoring these projects brought by the provincial government last year.
Progress of none of these projects is satisfactory. "Progress of these roads is not satisfactory. The contractor is minister's company. What can we say?" an officer at the Divisional Road Office, Surkhet had told Setopati.
